Gyre
by JasonCulhane
Summary: The discovery of Mitochondrial Eve is seen as the discovery of the century. However, more remarkable finds bring into question humanity's understanding of its history. Mysterious omens plague those that find them. It has happened before, will it again?
1. Prologue

PROLOGUE

150000 YEARS AGO…

She rode away from the blue-green orb at sublight velocities accompanied by a knot of smaller vessels, the Colonial Fleet. Together they headed straight for the most brilliant point of light in the sky, a source of radiance and warmth, the parent sun of humanity's new home, Earth. They were but hours from their final rendezvous, the last journey any of these ships would ever embark upon. The _Battlestar Galactica_ led this suicide charge, as it were, into the stellar furnace that would soon claim them and make them onto a level of existence less than dust.

Samuel Anders lay in his Hybrid pool, voicing the many random titbits of information channelled to him through the datastream. He was the pilot. He guided the Fleet on its final journey. There was not much time left now as they made a close pass of this system's innermost world. It was a dry, airless, torrid rock floating in space, pockmarked with craters. Anders made a few choice course corrections to keep the fleet on target for a simultaneous collision with the star's outer atmosphere when a series of systems faults and power fluctuations flooded into his conscious awareness. "Fluctuation in feedback from primary sensor array, isolating navigational sensors from error. Environmental systems failure, air temperature dropping ship-wide, CO2 scrubbers rendered ineffective. No matter, our course is set. Our final destiny awaits…NO! Sublight engine cooling unit failure. Engine temperatures approaching critical. No, we must not waver, we must not diverge from this path. We have to be consumed in all-encompassing light…Total engine failure, we slow, slowing, slowing…we drift. The others, they still follow a path that shall lead them into the embrace of the fiery corona. We lay here in the path of a dead sphere of stone. We will not find our way to the light but forever be taunted by its presence so near, so near."

Despair consumed him now as he sensed the gravitational pull of the oncoming planet pull him down to its dull and dreary self. A solitary wandered down his face as he gazed upward saying, "I told her I'd see her on the other side."

A hand appeared from nowhere, caressing his cheek, and gently pulling his head to the right. The woman who stared back at him with warmth and love had beautiful hazel eyes and flowing straight, blonde hair. Her smile was like a soothing melody that brought calm and comfort as she used her other hand to wipe away his tears. From her touch, he knew she was really there, but he felt the need to confirm it, so he reached with his left hand to brush back the hair from her face and tuck it behind her ear. It was then that she leant in and kissed him on the lips gently. To Anders, it was perfection, sweet ecstasy. In that moment though, his Hybrid mind-set seemed to dissolve, his former identity reconstituting itself, returning to the fore. He inhaled sharply and thrashed in the tub as though he were surfacing after a long submersion in the cold, cold depths. The woman held him still and whispered in his ear, "Shhhhh, it's okay. I'm here now, and I'll be here with you always."

"What's happening? How'd you get here?"

"All that doesn't matter any longer. What's important is that our journey is not yet complete. I believed we would see each other on the other side, but God has other plans."

"I don't understand."

"You will, in time."

The ship began to shudder as it made its descent, though with little to no atmospheric resistance, it was merely the forces of gravity at work. Lights and system controls continued to flicker around them, sparks erupting in places. The woman just held him up with an arm around his shoulders and continued to stroke his face. She said, "You must sleep now, Sam, for a very long time. You have a greater purpose. You are integral to God's plan. The cycle is inevitable. The question is not _will_ it happen but _when_. God knows when, only you can change the outcome."

"How will I sleep?"

"The tub will preserve you in a dormant state. Only when other souls step aboard this vessel will you reawaken. I must go now, Sam."

Grabbing her hand tight, he asked desperately, "Will I see you again?"

She smiled her cheeky grin and said, "Let's just say I will be back, but not as you might expect."

The _Galactica_ groaned as her hull flexed under the force of gravity. The ship was nearing the surface. All the major systems lost power as it was diverted towards Anders' tub. He held on to her hand tighter and said, "I'm scared. Promise me I'll see you again."

"I promise."

"I love you, Kara."

"I love you, too, Sam…but that's not my name."

In a split second, she vanished as though she were vapour slipping between his fingers. His eyes rolled back into their sockets ass he lost consciousness. Finally, the lights flickered and died on the CIC, and the _Battlestar Galactica_ disappeared into the dark depths of a sheltered crater.

Earth – 20 years later…

The cave was poorly lit and dingy, but it was the only place safe to give birth with all the predators on this planet. Already, several of the group had fallen victim to attack by large felines who then surrendered their leftovers to packs of marauding canines. Sol and Ellen made their way inside with haste, wrinkling their noses from the smell of guano. Already, Gauis Baltar and Caprica Six were present along with their panicked son who was also soon to be a father, Liam. He looked much like his father himself, but had his mother's height for certain. He held the hand of his distressed wife tightly as Doc Cottle attempted to deliver her baby. It was hard to believe that this twenty-four year old woman was once the little child who stirred up such controversy by the mere miracle of her existence, the result of a mating of a human and a Cylon, Hera Agathon.

She lay on a bed of animal furs so as not to contaminate her with the filth that constituted the floor. Whilst her husband held her left hand, her mother, Athena, knelt beside her right, holding her by the hand and elbow. She cried an endless stream of tears and pleaded with Cottle to help her little girl. The labour had already lasted eighteen hours, and Hera was growing weak. Her pregnancy had been difficult, plagued with problems that Doc Cottle could do little about without any of his equipment. Liam, too, cried for his struggling wife, feeling guilt and remorse as not long after they were married, she found out she was pregnant and almost immediately needed to be put on bed rest, or the best approximation of it given their nomadic lifestyle. The last nine months she had felt like a constant burden, and her mood swings usually landed her in a state of brutal depression. He thought that maybe it was partly due to the recent death of her father, Helo.

Just a month before they were due to be married, they had all gone on a hunting trip together into the grasslands. As they traversed the open savannah and into the scrublands, they came across a herd of small, deer-like creatures with brown backs and white underbellies separated by a black stripe. Her father, unfortunately, chose a target among the herd that had already been claimed by something else. When he scared off the buck, the predator decided he would do instead. A spotted feline emerged from the high grass as if out of nowhere and lunged at his throat. They had all speared the animal to death before it could totally kill him, but the wound was mortal.

He did not make back to their encampment.

Hera had struggled with her own guilt, feeling that she could have saved him and that perhaps she had been too easily convinced to take that trip; she had been feeling ill, probably the early symptoms of her as yet unknown pregnancy, but Helo had been adamant about them all going or not at all. As she inhaled and exhaled rapidly, punctuated by bloodcurdling screams, Caprica whispered to Gaius, "She's going to die, isn't she?"

"I don't know, my love. Let's hope not."

"I don't understand. God wanted us to protect her, to save her, but for what? Surely not this."

"I don't get it either. It seems like such a waste."

"Liam is going to be devastated."

At that point, Caprica cried into his shoulder as he put his arm around her, his own eyes watering. Doc Cottle shouted encouragingly, "All right, Hera, you can do this. The head's almost out, just a few more pushes, okay?" She barely acknowledged him but then, Cottle started counting. "…Eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, PUSH!"

And she did, as hard as she could. This repeated a few more times before the baby slipped from her womb. Cottle held her up before Hera and said, "It's a little girl. Congratulations, Hera, you did it."

Everyone seemed a little relieved. The child seemed fine and did not so much as cry, but Hera spoke distantly, "Can I hold her?"

Doc Cottle passed the baby girl to her mother, and she said, "Hello, little girl, I name you Azura."

"That's a beautiful name," Athena said.

She cradled the child for a moment longer before passing her to Liam, who held her close in his arms, crying tears of joy. Everyone smiled except for Gaius, Caprica, and Doc Cottle. Cottle saw the colour leave her cheeks as her breathing shallowed. He looked straight down to see blood spilling from her uterus. He yelled, "My Gods, she's haemorrhaging."

Hera's arms feel limply to her sides, and her eyes became vacant as though she were looking past everyone and everything. Athena gripped her daughter's shoulder and said, "Baby, please don't go. Please!"

Liam cradled little Azura who remained quiet and peaceful despite the crying and the screaming. Athena stared at Cottle pleadingly, but helpless, he just said, "I can't stop it. I'm so sorry."

Athena wailed as Liam trembled, despite now being comforted by his parents. Sol and Ellen held each other, tears welling up. Yet, just as life seemed to be leaving her, she momentarily became alert, staring at Ellen and Sol. She said, "Tigh, protect my daughter."

"Of…of course…but I ain't got many years left in me, kiddo."

"She's important, like I was."

"We all know that, she'll be well looked after."

Vacancy returned to her expression as she said, "None of them along her line will know what they are worth."

Sol's expression was one of shock, as Hera lost consciousness and passed on. Azura fell asleep in her father's arms.

2009 AD…

At a newsstand on a busy New York street, a man purchased the latest copy of the _National Geographic_ magazine with a story of a major find in the world of archaeology. He immediately opened it to the appropriate page and began to read. However, as soon as he had opened the article, a man and woman appeared at his back and peered over his shoulder at the magazine. The woman began to read it aloud, but the man didn't so much as flinch, as though he were totally unaware of their existence, probably as they would like it, given the circumstance. She began, "At a scientific conference this week at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, the startling announcement was made that archaeologists believe they have found the fossilised remains of a young woman who may actually be Mitochondrial Eve. Mitochondrial Eve is the name scientists have given to the most recent common ancestor of all human beings now living on Earth. She lived in what is now Tanzania over one hundred and fifty thousand years ago."

The man added jestingly, "Along with her Cylon mother and human father!"

As the man departed, they, too, walked along the busy pavement. The woman eyed her surroundings, saying, "Commercialism, decadence, technology run amuck. Remind you of anything?"

The man replied, "Take your pick, Kobol, Earth…the real Earth before this one, Caprica before the Fall."

"All of this has happened before…"

Interjecting, he said, "…But the question remains, does all of this have to happen again?"

"This time, I bet no."

The man stopped, turning to the woman, he asked, "You know I've never known you to play the optimist, why the change of heart?"

"Mathematics, law of averages, let a complex system repeat itself long enough, eventually something surprising might occur. That, too, is in God's plan."

The man leant in and said, "You know he doesn't like that name." The woman merely gave him a disdainful look, and he simply said, "Silly me, silly, silly me."

They continued to stroll down the street as a familiar tune played over a radio. The woman said, "I suppose some things are inevitable."

The man replied, "What makes a good tune is a constant in human society I guess."

As they observed the many advances in robotics being played out on TV sets in a number of technology stores and news agents, they both stopped dead in their tracks at a street corner and looked at each other with surprised smiles. The man said, "Well, it would seem we will know the answer to that question very soon."

She replied, "Indeed, too bad God doesn't feel we have a part to play in this."

"Not yet anyhow, but our counterparts should do nicely."

"They've seen this happen before."

"Hopefully, their guidance will prevent it happening again."


	2. Chapter 1  By Grace of a Coin Toss

CHAPTER ONE:

By Grace of a Coin Toss

JANUARY 10th, 2012…

The crisp mountain air swept down from the nearby peaks in unforgiving gusts that firmly reminded Anna McLaren that winter had yet to leave Wales. As she catalogued various discovered items in her notebook, she wondered why she was subjecting herself to these miserable conditions when this archaeological dig she had volunteered for had turned out not to be one at all. The Welsh officials had decided to alter the route of a nearby mountain road after falling scree and larger rockslides had caused several traffic accidents, which culminated in the deaths of a family of four the previous month. Several experts had been called in to first examine anything uncovered along the new road's planned path, and Anna had been stupid enough to offer her services.

The plan had been that this minor expedition would take her away from her dreary, dead-end job in Edinburgh, from her empty home full of bitter memories, and out of reach of her spiteful ex-husband. Well, she'd exchanged all that for a dud of a dig site, miserable weather, and overeager colleagues who she had to watch have more fun than she did. Sally Andrews and Ronan O' Connell were both palaeontologists, both of whom had forgotten to inform her that the sediment layer they would be examining was over one hundred and fifty thousand years old. Since at that point anatomically modern humans hadn't technically evolved yet or left Africa for that matter, there wasn't a whole lot of archaeology to do. Her best find so far had been a copper coin from the 19th century, which she'd rooted out of the piles of dirt already excavated from the site by the JCBs. Sally and Ronan, on the other hand, were finding fossilised remains of bears, snow lions, mammoths, woolly rhinos and other ice age animals that used to roam across Britain at the time.

With a sigh, she plopped down upon an unopened, plastic equipment box and took in her surroundings. The mountains were just to the east, austere with their covering of powdery snow. The original road lay in a valley between the base of the mountains, and the small hill upon the western side of which the new road would be constructed. A steely sky threatened to add sleet and snow to the misery of this already bitter day as the winds grew ever stronger. Anna shuddered and clenched her fists tight. Her fingers were numb despite her thick gloves, and her ears and nose were so cold that they hurt.

She wondered what she had done to deserve this gross miscarriage of justice that was laughably called her life. Her husband, Aidin, who was a criminal defence attorney, had been a royal jackass and a total chauvinist. He disapproved of her career constantly, believing she belonged in the home, doing laundry and making his dinner for him. When his initial attempts to "persuade" her to quit her job failed, he resorted to degradation. At first it was verbal, poking fun at her education choices, making out that her degree was about as useful as one in philosophy, despite the fact that she raked in a sizeable wage from a very prestigious lecturing post in Edinburgh University. Then, if it was not her work, it was her interests, her neediness, or her appearance. Eventually, he refused to allow her to handle bills or mortgage payments, and decided she could not go anywhere but work alone. She tolerated this because she was blinded by her love for the man, but the man she loved and the man she married were too different people entirely. She could never have imagined six years ago that her kind, loving fiancé would turn out to be such an abusive husband. Unfortunately, she couldn't let go of the hope that someday he might become that perfect guy she'd said yes to once again.

The last straw came when he started to get physical with her. It started with shoving and grabbing when they would have an argument. Before long, he saw fit to slap her or push her to the ground whenever she raised her voice even a little to him. She left him for a month at that point, returning to her parents in Glasgow. She told them nothing of why she was staying. She still cared enough about him not to tell her overprotective father or her three older brothers that her husband had been knocking her about. It was when he came to Glasgow pleading with her to come home and that he could change that she relented. So, she came home and was greeted with a kitchen littered with rose petals and a candlelit dinner upon the table. He morphed into a complete gentleman, pulling out her seat and pouring her wine. They spoke as they would when they were engaged, joking, laughing, declaring their love for each other. It was amazing how alien the words "I love you" had become to her. By the early hours of the morning, she'd become quite tipsy, even though she didn't think she'd drank that much. Aidin had to help her to their bedroom, which was also covered in rose petals. He lay her gently upon the bed and began to kiss and caress her. She wanted him to make love to her and let him undress her. She found herself becoming woozier, but was pretty sure that Aidin was not exactly making love to her. He was being very rough and forceful, enough that it hurt through her dulled senses. He then picked her up and threw her across the bed on her stomach. She faced away from him towards the television with him pressing down on her back with one hand and pulling her head back by her hair with the other.

It was then that the television flicked on.

She didn't understand. From the sounds, she knew it was some sort of pornography but as her vision clarified, she saw what it really was. It was a video of Aidin having sex with another woman in their own bed. She whimpered and closed her eyes, but she couldn't block out the sound. It was then that Aidin said, "That's right, sweetheart. I banged another bitch like you right here. Don't read into it too much, though. I loved her as much as I loved the other twenty broads I did while you were gone, as much as I love you. How dare you leave me. You are mine to do with as I please. You should realise now how replaceable you are. By the way, I slipped you a little something so you won't be resisting too much 'cause I intend to punish you thoroughly."

She cried through the whole ordeal, which seemed endless to her. The next morning, she awoke with bruises, cuts, and a dislocated shoulder. Aidin wasn't there. He left a note on the bed telling her that he'd gone to work and that if she wasn't there when he got back, the previous night would seem pleasant compared to what he'd do to her next. He probably believed he'd beaten the fight out of her, that now she'd be the docile, compliant wife that he wanted.

About five seconds passed between her finishing the note and dialling 999.

She was hospitalised and had to suffer the indignity of a rape kit and several blood tests. For a man who practiced law, Aidin hadn't covered his tracks very well. His overconfidence in how well he'd degraded Anna had led him to not use protection, write a threatening note in his own neat script, and not dispose of the unused sedatives that he'd used on her. When he was arrested in his own workplace, she thought she'd gotten her revenge, until on his hearing she found that the judge was a close friend of his. He decided to set bail at seventy-five thousand pounds, which was as low as he could go given the strength of the evidence. Aidin, it turned out, had kept much of his savings secret from her in separate bank accounts and so could easily afford to make bail. The fact that the judge neglected to issue a restraining order meant he could return to their home, which he tried to do that same evening. He turned tail and ran when he saw Anna's father and three burly brothers waiting for him on the doorstep. Since then, one of them had stayed with her at all times. Relative safety during the trial did nothing to keep her afloat though.

The drawn out judicial proceedings took their toll. She thought what finally made her crack was that Aidin decided to represent himself when the time came for her to take the stand. Her family protested, and the judge had her father removed. She was in shock and teetering on the brink, which Aidin took advantage of. However, after his savage cross-examination in which he made her relive every detail, the judge seemed to realise his mistake in giving his friend an easy time. He signed off on a restraining order and had him fitted with an ankle monitor until the jury handed down their verdict. In the meantime, she tried to return to work. She'd been scheduled to examine a Roman site in Kent before the assault and decided that the time away and the distance might do her some good. Her colleagues didn't agree, feeling she wasn't ready to be put straight back in the field, but she knew their concern was more for the sensitivity of the site than for her.

It turned out their concerns were justified in that regard.

Whilst trying to remove two almost completely intact vases that were covered in intricate designs, she damaged them, leaving one in fragments after she slipped and drove her chisel through it. The site leader ordered her home, saying she was too jittery and preoccupied for such delicate work.

Depression gripped her there on out. The jury were still deliberating weeks after the defence and prosecution had rested their cases. While she waited, she had nothing to do but lounge about at home, as the head of the School of Archaeology in Edinburgh, Donald McLachlan, decided she needed time to recuperate. The fact was that what she really needed was a distraction. So she kept in touch with her students, and she graded some papers, but none of that was good enough. She soon found herself sitting, watching television programmes she had no interest in with only a bottle of red wine for company. That was soon upgraded to vodka or whiskey when her family members had to return to Glasgow. Her brothers each had families of their own and they had put their lives totally on hold for her. Her father was still working, and his employers weren't willing to give him anymore time off. Her mother didn't drive, so she could only visit once a week on the bus. She was beginning to feel isolated from the world and became so aloof that she forgot basics like groceries, housework, and personal hygiene.

It was two months before the jury decided upon a verdict.

Save for her mother, she was alone in the stands when the guilty verdict was handed down. Aidin seemed smug and even smiled at her, so she knew he would appeal, and this would not be over. That was a week previous, and now she had to wait for the sentencing hearing and after that the appeal.

So she stayed seated upon the uncomfortable toolbox, her strawberry blonde hair whipping about her face in the breeze as a slowly freezing tear crawled down her cheek from her tired, green eyes. She considered leaving right there and then and leant forward as if to stand. She knew she'd been allowed on this trip because there was nothing she could damage on this site but animal bones. As she leaned forward, she felt something solid in her left, jacket pocket. She reached in and retrieved the greening copper coin that she'd found earlier. She examined it, turning it in her fingers. It was an 1859 copper farthing with Queen Victoria's bust facing left on one side with the legend _Victoria Dei Gratia_ (Victoria by the Grace of God). The reverse side had the seated Britannia holding a shield and trident, but the legend had faded. She decided to flip the coin to decide whether or not she should stay.

_So, heads – Victoria – I stay, tails – Britannia – I go_.

So, placing it on the end of her thumb and her index finger, she flipped the little coin. However, she fumbled it, and the little farthing rolled away from her down the gentle slope. She didn't know why she chased after the almost worthless piece of copper, but she did and caught up with it as it lost its momentum in some loose, sandy sediment. She scooped it up in her hands, taking up a handful of silt along with it. She attempted to pick it out of the dirt, but could not retrieve it. In the end, she let all the material fall to the ground, but there was no coin amongst it. She checked the surrounding area again to make sure she wasn't losing her mind, but she found nothing. She had been so certain that she'd caught it. She noticed that all the sediment on this side of the hill had also been disturbed by the activities of the construction crews but not to the same extent as the side that had actually been excavated. She decided to take the loss of the coin as a tails and leave when something caught her eye. Where she had disturbed the earth in her desperate bid to apprehend the escaped coin, she saw something solid was poking out of the coarse sediment. At first she thought it might be just a pebble, but crouching down and brushing away more of the sediment, it was clear what it was.

_A human hand?_


	3. Chapter 2 The Book's Cover

CHAPTER two:

The books cover

JANUARY 14th, 2012…

Gregory Barnes left his five-star suite in the Nilambagh Palace Hotel. Having arrived in Bhavnagar, India only a few hours previous, he had only just settled in to his luxury accommodations when he had to leave. He had arranged to meet his contact at the hotel itself. He had it all planned out. They would have a few drinks in the wooded environs around the hotel, he'd spread some money around and then, hopefully, his contact would be suitably agreeable to help him with his quest. Gregory considered himself an academic, a scientist who adheres to scientific method and follows the facts to the most logical conclusion. However, his detractors would have other things to say about him. He had been labelled a charlatan, a publicity-seeking rich boy, and a pseudoarchaeologist who was a discredit to his family and the institution at which he studied his field, Yale University. He knew none of that was true, and whilst he did enjoy the attention and attacking the fundamental beliefs of his dogmatic counterparts in the archaeological community, he had long ago accepted that respect was something he had largely lost, and he would only have that returned to him if he were to be vindicated.

For the last ten years, that had proven elusive.

He believed the opportunity for such vindication had finally come in 2001 when an Indian official announced that the National Institute of Ocean Technology had discovered what they believed to be the sunken ruins of a hitherto unknown civilisation in the Gulf of Khambhat. They said they had identified what appeared to be ancient city-like structures such as a granary, public bath, citadel and a complex drainage system along with regularly-spaced dwellings. The site, located twenty kilometres off the coast of the state of Gujarat, spanned an incredible nine kilometres and was under about thirty meters of water, putting it in a time when sea levels were much a lower, a time _before _the accepted emergence of the Indus Valley civilisation.

Of course, he attempted to travel to the site, but he found himself road-blocked by the Indian authorities who declared it entirely NIOT jurisdiction and was not open to any foreign experts. Some among the team working on the site had gone as far as to say that they did not want his "like" on such an important archaeological expedition. His efforts to see this ruin for himself were further frustrated for the next three years as were all of his attempts to get in contact with the researchers involved. He couldn't even get his hands on the most recent data, despite the privilege his qualifications _should_ bestow. In the end, the whole thing fell into controversy. The archaeological community criticised how the site was treated, saying dredging for artefacts was not an appropriate way of excavating the site. They said there was no way now to associate what was recovered, which amounted to some wattle and daub and pottery shards, with the actual site. Objects that were dated to 9'500 years old included wood, which they dismissed as irrelevant given that that particular piece of wood could have arrived in the gulf from anywhere. Thereafter, research at the site dwindled, and people began to accept the judgement of the almighty dogmatists.

He had the money from sales of his latest book at the time, _Beyond the Pillars of Hercules_, to fund his own small-scale expedition to the site, but he could not get permission from the local authorities in Gujarat. They had decided that the underwater currents in the gulf made scuba diving hazardous, which would limit Gregory and his team to doing nothing more than what had been done previously, and he knew well how conclusive that work had been. He accepted their terms anyhow just in the hope of finding something. Yet his four-man team who were far less equipped than the NIOT expedition could only make even fuzzier sonar sweeps of the site that revealed next nothing. He decided not to try dredging. He refused to give his "colleagues" the satisfaction of condescending down to him about how improper that method was. He couldn't accept it though. He couldn't stomach the idea of actually floating above all his dreams come through and not be able to reach down to them.

_The torment of Tantalus, _he thought to himself, _thirty meters separates me from my drink_.

So, purely on impulse, he decided to purchase scuba gear locally and smuggle it aboard his boat, deciding it wasn't for anyone else to say what risks he could take. However, just as he was about to sail out again, his boat was detained and searched by the coastguard. On discovering the gear, he was given a strong warning and restrictions were placed upon his movements in Gujarat. They basically prevented him from boarding any boat in the gulf or approach within one mile of the shore. Any associated with him were ordered to abide by the same ruling.

So that was that. He left India and returned to his stately mansion just outside of Albany, New York State. There he wallowed in a dejected stupor for several months, drinking the remaining profits from his book and having his groupies over for all-night parties that he generally forgot by the next morning and only remembered the women he slept with because they usually were still thrown across him. He "despaired" as such for a while longer with nothing coming to light that would inspire him to write or otherwise publicise his beliefs. Slowly, his niche in the literary ecosystem was being filled by lesser writers who were of such little prominence that the archaeologists he waged his war of words against didn't even bother to chastise them.

_Am I a dying breed?_ He wondered. _Is there no room left in this world to wonder? To think outside the box, see beyond the black and white? _

He decided definitely no.

His peers might be floundering, but he still had the will and the weapons to fight the oppressive establishment. So, he sat himself in front of a computer and wrote and wrote and wrote until less than three months later, he landed a five-hundred page manuscript upon the desk of his publisher. He named it "_A Knife to the Heart of Dogma_". It was basically a thesis in which he laid out a number of pointed criticisms against the archaeological establishment and the very tenets of their beliefs. In particular, he assailed their stubborn adherence to what amounted to beliefs about the past and were unwilling to consider anything that might dispute those beliefs. After going over and then gleefully approving Gregory's latest work, his publisher asked, "So what poked the sleeping monster and roused him from his sleep?"

He replied, "Three months ago, it was a combination of boredom and intense frustration. This morning, it was some broad from Syracuse."

Just like his three previous works, this one was a bestseller. However, this time, it wasn't just topping one or two categories; it reached the top ten bestselling books in the USA. After that, it became an international hit, selling millions of copies that disappeared off the shelves. He was soon earning more money from this single book than his last three combined. He found himself flying from city to city, doing book signings and lectures. Gregory rode the wave of success until it crashed on the shores of Gujarat. He wasn't long using his newly earned millions to get a new expedition going and start negotiations with the local authorities. His run of good luck ended with the latter point. The officials he talked to refused to allow him access to the site after his blatant flouting of the rules they'd set out for his prior expedition. They told him his recklessness would be a danger to himself, those in his service, and also the citizens of Gujarat. So, they're previous restrictions still stood. Gregory Barnes was not allowed in or near the Bay of Khambhat. He thereafter told them in no uncertain terms where to shove it and tried to go over their heads to the Indian government. They simply told him that it was a state matter, and they would not interfere. Maddened by their stubbornness, his impulsive nature took the helm, and he decided to try to sail into the gulf without permission. He was only brought back down to Earth by the captain of his new research ship, the _Hiram Bingham_, who advised him that it would not be pleasant to spend any length of time in an Indian prison.

Tired and discouraged, Gregory found himself wallowing again or wandering aimlessly around his shiny new ship that was literally dead in the water. He felt useless and couldn't help but feel that his last work was nothing but a long-winded written assault unless he found something to back it up, something he promised his growing number of supporters that he would do.

_I suppose that's one I ain't gonna fulfil. I suppose I've got my earnings to tide me over till the next book. _

He had just about given up on his dream of being the first to properly explore these underwater ruins when his captain, a local man named Anesh Kadam, told him he might know someone who could provide a solution to his problem.

That was a week ago. Since then his captain had made arrangements for him to stay in Bhavnagar while he tried to get in touch with his associate through various channels. Apparently, this guy wasn't easy to find, and it was not by accident. According to Anesh, this person specialised in all sorts of covert ops and was a mercenary, bodyguard, spy, saboteur and, on occasion, assassin all in one. In fact, whatever the client wanted was what this guy provided. Anesh apparently hired this guy out to rescue his son after he was abducted by a criminal gang who attempted to extort money out of him for his safe return. Eighteen hours after getting in contact with the operative, his son arrived back on his doorstep, but his rescuer chose not to stick around. The next day, news reports on state news spoke of a known criminal gang of child traffickers and extortionists who had almost been wiped out in their own base of operations in Ahmedabad. The scene was described as so gruesome that seasoned police officers ran outside for air and often to throw up. Yet, despite the violence of the rescue, his son saw nothing but a dark figure blindfold him and bundle him into a car.

Gregory knew this guy was his ticket into the Gulf of Khambhat. Seriously, who would stand against him? He was basically the Indian Rambo. Anesh finally got hold of him the day before he was due to check into his hotel. He informed him where Gregory would be, and the guy, whose voice was obviously artificially distorted on the line, simply said he'd be there tomorrow. So, as he stepped off the hotel grounds onto the pavement, he kept an eye out for his soon-to-be favourite person in the world. Of the throngs of people lining either side of street, none of them stood out to Gregory in particular. None of the men he saw seemed like the image he had in his mind of a buff, battle-scared warrior. He double-checked his watch to make sure he wasn't too early or late, but no, it was noon, exactly the time he was meant to meet this less than punctual action man. Ten minutes passed and Gregory became agitated as much by stifling heat as by the delay. He really hoped this guy wasn't playing games, trying to see if he was smart enough to spot him. Then, he heard a high-pitched ringtone that was certainly not his own. The notes of whatever song it was were vaguely familiar, probably something his father listened to, but it was the source of the sound that intrigued him the most. He approached a trash bin just two meters up the street from him and looking down into it, he saw a buzzing phone sitting upon a disposed newspaper. He picked it up and hit the answer button. He said, "Hello…"

A moment later, the same distorted voice as before replied, "_Mr. Barnes, proceed up Dairy Road until you reach Nilambagh Circle. Proceed straight through onto Station Road. When you reach a crossroads at the Hotel Apollo, take the road to your right. On your left a short walk up that road is the Central Bus Station. Get on the next bus to Ghogha in exactly twenty-five minutes. You will receive further instructions when you arrive at your destination. Keep the phone…_"

He did not get a word in, and the line had already went dead before he could ask for any clarification. He had not been to the place he was asking him to go, nor had he any notion what to expect there. All he knew was that this wasn't the arrangement, and he was very antagonised at that moment. He considered calling Anesh when he saw the time on the phone. Seven minutes of his time had already disappeared while he stood there cursing and deliberating. Whatever his opinion of the situation, he knew how badly he wanted and needed to get to the underwater site, and that meant he absolutely could not miss that bus. So, under the relentless midday sun, Gregory pelted it down through the crowded city road.

There wasn't much Gregory could say about Ghogha. As the bus trundled up a narrow street, there was nothing much to see but people's homes and random patches of greenery. He supposed Ghogha was a small town by Indian standards, not much more than ten thousand people. He googled it on his _iPhone_ and found it had one factory on its outskirts and a ship-breaking yard. The street narrowed to a point where the bus could proceed no further, so he and a few others disembarked in yet another nondescript street. He was at a loss what to do next or where to go but just as he reached for the phone he picked up in Bhavnagar, it rang. He answered and immediately said, "All right, I've done everything you asked. I don't like this game of cat and mouse, so show yourself…please…"

There was a momentary silence before the distorted voice said, "_Proceed directly east from your present location, and you will eventually enter an area of open ground. From there, you should be able to see the ship-breaking yard. Go there_."

Once again, the line cut and Gregory was left even more frustrated. Since he had no option but to comply, he followed the narrow passageways as best he could, trying to maintain an easterly course. He was eyed both suspiciously and humorously by the locals and he had the feeling that perhaps he was walking through people's properties. Eventually, he came out onto a larger road that ran near the shore. He saw a dock of some kind due north as he passed over a bridge but was pretty sure from the _Google Earth_ images that the ship-breaking yard was in the southern part of the town. Soon enough, he noticed the vast open ground that the guy spoke of and at its far end was the yard. So, he proceeded south past a guesthouse and groups of children playing soccer and various other games. His feet were feeling sore walking on the hard, dusty soil, and he was pretty sure his sandals were chafing his heels. The afternoon sun somehow managed to be even hotter than it was before, and sweat dripped down his face in trickles that irritated his reddened skin. As he began panting furiously, horribly unfit as he was, he wondered was it worth it to take another step when he all of a sudden realised that he was there.

The ship-breaking yard was nothing impressive, just a warehouse with a damaged roof and a peer extending out into the water. A few partially dismantled boats lay on the shore in front of the warehouse, and there didn't seem to be any people around. He was just about to step inside the grounds when a distorted voice said from behind, "Don't move." He heard the click of a pistol's safety being turned off and froze in an instant. Then, the voice said, "If you have ID in your wallet, toss it back to me." He complied, yanking it from his pocket and hurling it backwards. He heard it thump on the ground. Then he heard someone rummaging through it before the voice said, "Turn around, slowly."

He did so, shaking so much that he nearly tripped over his foot mid-turn. With his hands up, he dared to gaze upon his captor. If this was the "guy" Anesh was talking about, he wasn't at all what Gregory expected. His arms were slender as were his shoulders and neck. His chest heaved outward but as he looked lower, he realised his mistake. The hourglass figure, nice hips, and long legs shod in black leather boots and donned in dark skinny jeans were not those of a man, which was confirmed when she pulled away the head scarf, aviator sunglasses, and the strange contraption over her mouth to reveal shoulder-length black hair, dark eyes, and sharp features. He was so taken aback by her attractiveness that he forgot for a moment that she still had the gun on him. She stepped forward slowly and said, "I don't appreciate staring, Mr Barnes."

He realised he'd been staring at her exposed cleavage generously shown off by her tank top. She holstered the pistol and stepped right up to his face and said, "Mr. Barnes, I advise you not to try anything stupid. I don't need my pistol to hurt you."

He nodded, still in disbelief that this was the person Anesh had been talking about. She seemed like she should be holding a handbag on a runway, not a pistol in a shipyard. Suddenly, she crouched down before him and began patting him down. He shuddered and asked, "Ah, ah, what are you doing?"

"Checking you for concealed weapons or tracking devices."

Having searched him by hand, she ran some device over him that made regular clicking noises. Once she was satisfied, she stashed it away in backpack she carried. She looked down at his crotch for some reason and half bent his knees like he expected her to kick him. She said, "Mr. Barnes, are you always this forward with the ladies?"

He looked down and realised he'd got an erection. He fumbled trying to cover it up, but his linen shorts didn't do much to conceal the bulge. The woman seemed unimpressed, though but extended her hand saying, "My name is Parmita Nayar. Welcome to Gogha, Mr. Barnes."

"Thanks, it's ah…nice to be here."

"It is not my hometown, Mr. Barnes, you do not have to pay it any compliment."

"Oh, okay…sorry…"

"…Follow me."

She walked past him into the yard past the warehouse. He realised then how perilously close he was to the water. Surely, the authorities would pounce on him for breaking their little decrees. However, as if reading his mind, Parmita said, "If you're wondering why you haven't been arrested yet, I paid off the local police in Ghogha to ignore your arrival. I expect to be reimbursed on top of any payment I deem fit, which will be decided based on how smoothly this little expedition goes. Are we clear, Mr. Barnes?"

"Ah…"

Suddenly, she turned on her heel and was right in his face, saying, "If those terms are not acceptable, Mr. Barnes, we can part company now. I am in high demand and frankly, this operation is beneath me. I've investigated your finances, and I know you are more than capable of paying my fee."

"Very…am…very well…"

She turned again and said as she walked, "I couldn't help but notice your utter astonishment when you saw me, why was that exactly?"

He was lost for what to say. He knew the truth, but he couldn't just say it, for fear she might just shoot him on the spot. Still, his hesitancy seemed to angering her just as much so he said, "I…ah…just expected you to be different somehow…"

"You mean you expected me to be a man. Oh, Mr. Barnes, we are already not off to a great start."

"I-I-I'm sorry, it's just…ah…"

She interjected into his mumblings saying, "Oh don't worry your little head. I've gotten this a lot and if it's any consolation, given your reputation as a dashing, wealthy, womanising, fame-hungry author, I expected something a little easier on the eye. Guess how disappointed I am."

Parmita knew herself she was being overly harsh, but this man seemed like the kind who need to be put in his place from the get-go. Gregory was totally aghast. He didn't think he'd ever been so thoroughly trashed by anyone, even his strongest critics. He realised he'd slowed a bit in his contemplation, so sped up until he caught up with Parmita at the shore. By the peer was an ageing, rusted cargo ship. The tide was rising and the bulky wreck was slowly bopping on the waves. Gregory asked, "So what's the plan? My ship can be here in an hour from its present location."

"Very amusing, Mr. Barnes, do you really think we're going to sail to the site on your ship that the coastguard has devoted an excessive amount of resources to surveilling?"

"How do you…?"

"I have many friends, Mr. Barnes, in many convenient places. A little common sense helps, too, though."

"Then, what are we supposed to do?"

"Well I know you expected some kind of fight, given my reputation, but I am not taking on innocent members of the authorities who are simply doing their job which is to stop you killing yourself and your employees whilst being an ass. However, you have hired me to help you be an ass, so I have to do that to the best of my ability." Parmita smirked at the irony of what she just said and continued, "Just tell your ship to sail out into the Arabian Sea, we'll meet them there."

"How? Where's _our_ ride?"

"Our _ride_ is right in front of you, Mr. Barnes."


	4. Chapter 3 The Downfall of Dogma

CHAPTER THREE:

The Downfall of Dogma

JANUARY 15th, 2012…

His hollow eyes stared up at her from the examination bench on which his remains were laid. The skeleton was perfect, every bone and even every tooth accounted for. After accidentally coming across this earth-shattering find that had already been dubbed by her and her colleagues as "Betws-y-Coed Man" for the nearest village to the site, his final resting place was cordoned off and his remains excavated and transferred to Edinburgh University as quickly as was possible. As she stood at his chest looking down at his skull, she could still not believe what she had found. The site was still under intense scrutiny, but all indications were that this was no fake. There was no disruption of the sediment strata that would indicate this man was buried more recently, which was further confirmed by the uranium-thorium dating of the surrounding sediments, indicating that none of the sediments were younger than one hundred and fifty thousand years old.

Yet, it was still unbelievable, downright impossible.

This man, without a shadow of a doubt, was an anatomically modern homo sapiens. Yet, Anna knew herself that the humans of the time usually displayed some archaic physical features like a protruding brow and non-prominent chin. This man, however, was indistinguishable from any Tom, Dick, or Harry walking down the streets outside the university. His body, too, showed signs of unusually good health for someone of that period. There were no signs of disease, malnutrition, or repeated injuries. His teeth showed signs of deterioration, but for a man of his age, which she'd determined was somewhere from forty-eight to fifty-two, it was surprising that he still had them all. In fact, she couldn't really determine a cause of death. In her opinion, there was no reason why he couldn't have lived a modern human's lifespan.

He was an enigma, inexplicable.

As she focussed on his face once more, she heard a strange ringing in her ears. A few moments later, she thought she heard some kind of pattern to the sound like musical notes. Her eyes were fixated upon the skull of the man, she couldn't look away. As she watched, muscle and tissue materialised. Veins and arteries spread over them like the spreading roots of a plant. Skin then spread over them like spilled water and hair sprouted almost instantly. Eyelids opened and a pair of deep brown eyes returned her unblinking stare. She was far too petrified to even quiver. The man smirked at her and said, reaching a hand to her face, "Beautiful…"

Anna could feel his touch, the roughness of his skin contrasting with the gentle warmth. Her breathing shallowed and quickened. She felt faint like this was some twisted, erotic fantasy brought on by narcotics that were swiftly robbing her of her sanity and of consciousness. He suddenly leant up and his hand clasped her cheek a little more firmly. He said softly, "There's a way out of here, Anna…"

Another hand touched her arm, and she jumped, letting out a terrified scream. She turned to find Donald, the head of the department, staring back at her with that same concerned expression that he always seemed to have with her since Aidin raped her. She saw that the skeleton was once again just a skeleton, so she quickly composed herself and said, "Donald, you scared me. Could you not have said something?"

"Sorry, Anna, I did announce myself coming in. You seemed in a daze."

"Am, I was just mulling over some things. You know how I get."

The white-haired man stared at her suspiciously with pale blue, bespectacled eyes. He was in his sixties and near retirement, but he still seemed uncannily spry and sharp, and was very protective of Anna. Unlike her other work colleagues, his concern came from a place of friendship and compassion rather than their selfish worry for their own work and general comfort. She quickly realised who her real friends were after it came out about the abuse Aidin put her through. It seemed no one wanted to feel ill-at-ease around poor, battered Anna, so they distanced themselves. Donald had been responsible for putting her on an early sabbatical, but he thought it was what was best for her. Anna decided she better not give him any reasons to rethink letting her back to working her position to its full capacity, it had been hard enough to convince him that she could handle another dig, which might have turned out to be a total waste anyways had she not found her new friend there. To the end of not getting put on leave, hallucinations of a man who died tens of millennia ago would never do. She decided she'd have to dispose of the drink and medications so readily available in her home cabinets. She handed Donald her report, and he skimmed down through it before asking, "You're certain this is no hoax. I'd hate to present this to the scientific community and have them tell me some asshole planted it there for us to find."

"Myself and everyone in the department have confirmed and re-confirmed these results. The data is incontrovertible. We have here a modern man literally ahead of his time."

"It's hard to believe. Those pseudo-archaeological conspiracy theorists will have a field day, as will the press. I've fought against their outlandish opinions all my life and here lies the proof they've all been searching for, not in an ancient Egyptian tomb or at the bottom of the ocean but buried in a Welsh hillside. I'd laugh and cry right now, but I'm not sure if I just want to scream."

"You seem disillusioned."

"Well does this not take away from everything we've all worked for? What we all believed to be true is up in the air."

"Science isn't about belief, Donald, it's about proof."

"I know, I know, but I have to admit there's a small part of me that wants to sweep this under the rug or label it as a hoax anyways, just to keep my world view intact. Yet, I know that's exactly what those nutcases think we do, so I'd never let them have it. I suppose we have to follow the evidence wherever it leads."

"Indeed, though it seems to be leading us down a very strange path."

"You have no idea how strange…" Sally Andrews had just entered the lab and walked right up to Donald. She seemed to avoid looking straight at Anna, but nevertheless, Anna asked unfazed, "What do you mean?"

"Well, would you like the astounding news or the outrageous and bizarre news?"

"Hit us with the astounding and build us up."

"Well, me, Ronan, and the rest of the team you assigned to us have excavated everything within a hundred-metre radius of the site where we found our friend here and almost directly beside him, we found his family."

Sally handed Donald several photos that showed the skeletal remains of six individuals, all of them position together. All of them lay on their backs with legs turned to the side and hands placed on either side of the neck. There were a number of reddish stains upon the bones, probably red ochre, and a number of items lay by their bodies such as deer antlers and boar tusks. Sally said, "There's an adult female and five adult males and all of their burials, starting with the woman, are perfectly in line with Betws-y-Coed Man."

Donald examined the pictures, one by one, so closely that his eyes watered from squinting. He said, "But these people aren't Homo sapiens, are they?"

"No, the female is definitely an early form of Homo neanderthalensis."

"Neanderthals, but you said these people were his family."

"I did, look more closely at the five males."

Donald was silent for a moment before awe overtook him. He was speechless. It was Anna who finally said, "They're half-breeds."

"Ahuh, and we're finding more remains across the site. There are a large number of pure Neanderthals, but we're finding a lot of them with more modern Homo sapiens features."

Donald finally collected himself and said, "I-I can't believe it. Direct evidence of not just ritualistic burial but interbreeding between different human species."

"It's ground-breaking. It'll definitely back up the genetic evidence already found for interspecies breeding."

Anna then asked, "Okay, that's the astounding news, so what's the bizarre and outrageous?"

The gleeful expression disappeared from Sally's face and was replaced with an air of dead seriousness, as if to affirm what she was about to say was no joke. She began, "Okay, this is all well and good, but we still are left with the question of how our perfectly modern friend here ended up back with Neanderthals in ice age Britain."

Donald said, "It is a mystery, but please don't hurt my head with theories of aliens or time travel."

Donald laughed but Sally remained grave. She said, "I'm afraid I can't oblige, Donald."

Donald stopped his chuckling and became just as sober as Sally, even a little angry as he said, "What? Come on, Sally, what else did you find in that site? A flying saucer? The skeletons of little green men? A flux capacitor? Well?"

She stared at him for a brief moment, a little astonished at the reaction the usually gentle Donald had to her statement. She then took another set of pictures from her satchel. They showed several items partially excavated with numbered tags lying beside them. Item number one was a knife which was oddly shiny, item number two was a cup that, too, had a shiny surface and handle, and finally item three just looked like a rag but on closer inspection, it was a bag not unlike Sally's satchel. Donald shook his head in disbelief and asked, "Sally, what are you playing at?"

"Nothing, these items were found buried with the five males, probably this guy's belongings passed to his sons."

Anna asked, in shock, "Are these really what I think they are?"

Sally nodded and said, "We took some samples for analysis. The knife is made of a titanium alloy, the cup is stainless steel and the bag is polyester. All of them, obviously, were beyond these people to manufacture."

Donald was dumbstruck, like he was in shock from being stabbed. Anna didn't have words to express how crazy this all was, until someone else provided them. "There's too much confusion, eh, Anna."

She dared not look at the man who sat upon the table, smirking at her.


	5. Chapter 4 The Unexpected

CHAPTER four:

THE UNEXPECTED

JANUARY 16th, 2012…

It had taken fourteen hours almost to rendezvous with Gregory's research ship after a cyclone rapidly developed in the Arabian Sea, forcing his ship to sail south away from the Gulf of Khambhat. After they finally caught up with his swift research vessel in the ponderous barge, it took a further eight hours to transfer and secure his equipment. He was still at a loss as to how he would deploy his many robotic submarines, and it appeared the ladder running down the ship's hull for accessing smaller vessels and for divers had rusted through. This was far from ideal, and it was becoming difficult for him to contain his frustration let alone conceal its obviousness in his expression. He could tell Parmita was none too appreciative of his attitude so he did his best to avoid her, but no matter where on the ship he went, she seemed to locate him in very little time. This time he'd gone down into the hold to check on his equipment, hoping for a reprieve but to no avail, Parmita was already there waiting for him. After their embarrassing encounter in Ghogha, it was becoming difficult for him not to appreciate her figure and long to have this most exotic and beguiling woman. However, Parmita greeted his interest with eyes of steel, and when he became flustered and incoherent, she did this very infuriating eyebrow raise which spoke volumes of her opinion of him. He decided he would carry himself with a bit more dignity on this encounter, and made a conscious effort to control his wandering eyes. This time she had made it easy for him. She had donned a black waterproof jacket that covered her very enticing bosom. Her attitude, though, was nonetheless frosty. Sardonically, she said, "Ah, Mr. Barnes, I trust this jacket pleases you, my previous state of dress seemed to cause you considerable distress."

"Ah…yes…it is far less _distressing_, definitely."

"Very good, I had no idea American men were so prudish."

"Oh, oh no, I think you have misread me, Ms. Nayar."

"Believe me, Mr. Barnes, I misread no one, what I said before was the height of sarcasm, Americans seem to have very little comprehension of it, and please don't call me "miss" anything, my first name will do fine."

Gregory decided it best not to respond with anything more than a simple nod as to save himself any further humiliation. Parmita, though, seemed almost disappointed that he did not squirm further. She regarded him speculatively for a moment longer, perhaps deciding how best to unbalance him next, before she said, "I just thought you'd like to know, one of your colleagues has detected something on sonar he thinks might interest you."

Gregory raised an eyebrow in surprise and said, "But…I thought we were still an hour out from the underwater site."

"Sonar is not my area of expertise, Mr. Barnes. If you want more details, I suggest you go speak with your man."

Parmita left quite abruptly then, leaving Gregory to scamper after her up on to the deck. A corroded metal staircase led to the bridge where several of Gregory's team were trying their best to jury-rig the out of date computers and navigational systems with more modern counterparts. A young blonde man with a scrawny frame and a bad complexion was hovering over the sonar station on the far side of the fairly compact bridge, seeming frustrated by the poor quality readings. Gregory never remembered the young man's name, he was a postgraduate student who he'd roped into his team with promises of adventure, fame, and material for his dissertation that would assure him a doctorate qualification. As he approached him, he tried desperately to recall the young man's name to no avail until he found himself tottering across the bridge, muttering all the while. Parmita said quite audibly to all present, "His name is Mr. Kevin Pierce." Gregory stared at her aghast as his whole team regarded him with amused side glances. Parmita added, "I know everything worth knowing about you and your cohorts, Mr. Barnes. Try not to look too astounded, it emphasises your wrinkles."

Gregory knew that she knew damn well that her intimate knowledge of him and his team was not the cause of his dismay, but she insisted on maintaining an air of total righteousness. A moment later the last stinging comment sunk in, and he found himself running his fingers along the corners of his eyes. He quickly desisted when the action earned him a few giggles from his "cohorts", and Parmita's smug little expression returned to that exotically beautiful visage that still had him enthralled, despite his growing distaste for the woman on a personal level. Kevin Pierce himself was too timid to be offended by Gregory's discourtesy, but was instead mortified that this man that he revered found him unmemorable. Decidedly discomfited, Gregory asked, "Ah, yes, Mr. Pierce, I believe you have something for me."

"Yes, Mr. Barnes, sir, our latest sonar returns over this area may have revealed another underwater ruin."

Gregory was immediately ecstatic, and all the unease of the last few minutes melted away. To think, he might be discoverer of yet more evidence of this ancient bygone civilisation. He strode forward, clasped the little man's shoulders and said, "Excellent work, young man, tell me everything you have on this new site."

Suddenly, Gregory was snapped out of his musing by a loudly vibrating mobile. Parmita calmly took it out of her breast pocket and stepped outside without a word. Gregory was frustrated now but returned his attention to Kevin. "Sorry, go ahead, Mr. Pierce."

"Well, sir, this ruin isn't on the scale of the previous find, it may be a isolated settlement or even a temple of some sort. I've identified one central rectangular structure surrounded by what appear to be a dozen smaller dwellings. Given its location in deeper waters, it's probably older or at least was abandoned sooner than the original site north of here."

"Amazing, how are conditions beneath us?"

"Like most of the gulf, murky and hazardous, but we might be able to get more detailed information if we send down the robot submarine to collect some samples, and I should have the site fully mapped in a few hours."

"Well, I wish we had that sort of time, but we need to get our survey of the original site done as quickly as possible. We'll make a note of this site, and once we make our study public, others will swarm all over this area. Let them have the leftovers."

Parmita appeared again in total silence and her voice caused Gregory to physically leap several feet. "I'm afraid, Mr. Barnes, that the leftovers may be all you have to work with."

"Wha-what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that the original site has been cordoned off, so to speak."

"What? How is that possible?"

"They know you're in the country, Mr. Barnes, the authorities, and they have taken steps to prevent you reaching the site. They know your vessel is out to sea, and it is likely that you're movements were spotted by locals. Therefore, they know your ship is nearby but that you are not on-board. They've probably surmised by now that you intend to gain access to the site using another vessel and since they don't know which one you're on, they're blockading the site. We have no hope of getting through. If we approach, we'll stick out like a sore thumb, and they will most definitely detain us. I can't have that, Mr. Barnes."

"So all this was for nothing?" Gregory was verging on the hysterical.

"You have this discovery. I suggest you take what you can get. Before long, our position here will be reported, and coastguard vessels will be dispatched. I imagine we have three to four hours at most before we'll need to be leaving."

"Three or four _hours_! I thought I was getting a day, at least!"

"The situation has changed, Mr. Barnes, and we must change with it."

"That is unacceptable." He spluttered.

"Then I must take my leave, Mr. Barnes. I will expect my payment to enter my account in full, once you've weaselled your way out of prison, though, I can't imagine that you'll get your teammates out, or even try."

All eyes were on Gregory now, and he could sense mutiny in the air. He knew that Parmita was right. Many associated with him had come out of situations like this much worse off than he did. He could always bargain his way out of tight spots, but he never expended any of his efforts to help those who helped him. His team knew that much, and none of them would follow him blindly into danger. So, he relented, "Oh, very well, Mr. Pierce, do whatever you can with the time _allotted_."

"Yes, Mr. Barnes, sir."

Kevin scuttled off the bridge onto the deck to prepare the robot submarine to be deployed. Everyone else returned their attention to their various tasks, but Gregory was peeved that he had not got his way. This was supposed to be his expedition, and he was being bullied by this surly bitch with a superiority complex. As Parmita went out on deck, Gregory believed he'd actually worked up the courage to confront her. He pursued her, all riled up to give her a good tongue-lashing, until he turned a corner into the hold and he almost ran right into her. As it was, she stood there with a fiery expression under which Gregory's resolve melted and fizzled away. He felt physically smaller as he cowered from her unrelenting stare. She said, maintaining an even tone, "Mr. Barnes, I have already told you that I don't misread people. I need to know what people are thinking, what they are planning, so I can pre-empt them. I also told you I would help you be an ass, as long as it didn't involve a direct confrontation with the authorities. So you have been duly notified of the conditions under which you can continue to expect my services. So, tell me, what's your problem, Mr. Barnes?" He wanted to say that she was the problem along with a few choice insults, but no words left his mouth. Parmita smirked briefly and said, "Thought not."

It was another hour before the probe was in the water much to Gregory's chagrin. There was a strong current also which made directing the robot to the site precarious at best in these murky waters. After a further tortuous hour, the robot made it to what ostensibly was the front entrance of the temple. After a few minutes of travelling blindly, the sediment that clouded the water began to thin, just enough to allow the site to be vaguely seen. The dwellings were largely buried and so obscured from view, but the massive temple building still rose from the seabed. It was hard to discern its exact features, but Kevin was quick to mutter in awe, "Mr Barnes, sir, are those columns along the side?"

He was certain the young student was merely misled by the poor quality of the video feed, but before long, he, too, could make out a dozen or so columns still protruding from the silt. The temple's roof was sloping and partially collapsed, but the structure was remarkably intact. Gregory said, "That hole in the roof, Mr. Pierce, do you think it's navigable?"

"It's possible, sir, but very risky."

"Do it, I have a hunch."

Nervously, Kevin manoeuvred the very expensive robot through the gaping hole in the roof. The edges of the cavity were surprisingly clean and very little debris or silt had collected inside. The robot dived to the floor and scanned its surroundings. It was then that they all caught sight of something glinting in the faint light coming from above. The robot swam closer until the murk cleared, and the whole team were face to face with a series of steps leading up to a golden statue of proportions greater than an elephant. The being it represented was definitely something akin to Hindu mythological figures, but Gregory soon exclaimed, "Impossible, this architecture, the layout, everything, it's all Ancient Greek, which is more than six thousand years after the supposed date of this site."

"Perhaps, sir, the design similarities are a coincidence, random convergence."

"No, no, no, there's too much commonality for that, but that statue, it definitely reminds me of depictions of Krishna."

"Ah, sir, there appear to be some objects scattered about the foot of the statue, shall I collect some samples?"

"Yes, and get the robot back on-board as soon as humanly possible. I imagine our time has run out, Parmita. Parmita?" She did not answer. Her countenance was bewildered, dumbstruck even, and her skin had become as pale as her complexion would allow. Gregory said more loudly, "Parmita?"

"What?" She snapped as if she had only just heard him and was offended by his tone.

He replied, "I was asking if we should be moving on as soon as the robot returns."

"Yes, of course, our time is running short. We could stay longer, though, if you'd like to see the inside of an Indian prison."

"I'll pass, thanks. Get the robot back as quickly as you can, Mr. Pierce."

"Yes, sir."

Gregory turned to their skipper, Omar Laurent, and said, "Omar, get the engine going, I want us underway to rendezvous with my ship as soon as the robot is secure."

"No problem, Greg."

He and Omar were old acquaintances who worked together often, and they had left formalities behind long ago.

Now that the robot was travelling with the current, it wasn't long before it made it back to the ship and was hoisted up. Kevin immediately detached the sample collection compartment and carried down to the hold. There, Gregory and Parmita were waiting. Kevin opened it, standing back a bit to allow the sullied water and mucky silt to drain away. He then placed the compartment on top of an old crate and reached in to retrieve their haul. What he produced first was a complete stone tablet, followed by a few more that were fragmented. The evidence of writing on them was clear, but exposure to the sea had denuded the intricacies of the language once carved into this stones. Next came a piece of metal that was in perfect condition and looked like the vertical tail of a small plane, so it was immediately dismissed and set aside. It was the last piece that was the most awe-inspiring. It was a solid gold plate about two feet long by half a foot high and on it was more writing, only this script was perfectly preserved on infallible gold. Gregory held the plate in his hands and stared intently at the writing. Kevin waited anxiously for Gregory's assessment, but Parmita looked horror-struck for no apparent reason. He finally spoke after several minutes staring intently. "This script is quite strange."

"How so, sir?" Kevin asked.

"Well, the sounds are somewhat like PIE, the Proto-Indo-European language, from which all European, Middle-Eastern, and Indian languages derive. However, that was a Neolithic language with no written form. However, the writing here is very similar to ancient Greek and Sanskrit, which was how I was able to derive some of the sounds. This could mean that all languages today originate from something like this, it could be that these people are the ancestors of all Eurasian civilisations."

"Any chance you could translate this inscription?"

"With time, maybe, but it would speed things along greatly if I could get hold of a linguist. I have some colleagues who may be of help, once we get back to the States. I will say this, though, this last word looks very like the most ancient forms of the name of the god Apollo…"

There was a click that brought a deafening silence to the room. Parmita was trembling, but she held a gun to Gregory's head. She uttered between clenched teeth, "I am sorry Gregory, but I cannot permit this sacrilege to continue. This artefacts will be coming with me."


	6. Chapter 5 Messenger

CHAPTER five:

Messenger

JANUARY 19th, 2012…

Aria Chey was trapped in the worst career meltdown of her life. As a lead member of the science team for NASA's Messenger probe in orbit of Mercury, she had been responsible for most day-to-day management whilst the Principle Investigator, Eamon Wolfe, was on leave. He had departed with his family for a vacation in the Bahamas exactly two days ago. In that time, Aria had managed to let curiosity overwhelm her better judgement by authorising a course correction which in turn led to major interference with communications with Messenger which ended in a total blackout and now not even the Hubble telescope could confirm the probe was still in orbit. Most of the engineering team were in agreement that the probe was probably lost. If her decision, one which also had not been sanctioned, was responsible for the premature termination of NASA's first science mission to Mercury in nearly forty years, she could pretty much kiss her career prospects goodbye and get in line to apply for MacDonald's.

It was nearly nine in the morning, meaning Messenger was going to be out of contact for twelve hours and, also, that Eamon would be arriving soon, having cut his long-awaited family vacation short to come in and see to this problem himself. He sounded very calm on the phone when she had called him late yesterday evening, but Aria knew that was nothing but Eamon's peculiar personality. He was much like a rock so he absorbed bad news in much the same way; at first it would sit on the outside like some pesky irritation but, like water, once it seeped into some crack in his icy exterior, it would be as though someone placed the sun under his ass, and then heads would start to roll, and Aria knew hers would be taking a tumble today.

Nine came and went and word had it that the boss-man was already pacing and seething in his office. Aria knew she had to bite the bullet and face up to her mistake, if only she knew what she'd done wrong in the first place. As she approached his office, a walled off room in the vast control centre at the John Hopkins Physics Laboratory, she saw Eamon consulting with Adam Wells, the Mission Systems Engineer and sitting nearby was Danielle Agrusa, the Senior Management Advisor. Aria was the Project Manager and so was entirely responsible for all decisions made in Eamon's absence. Still, it probably wouldn't look good that she didn't even consult with her nearest counterparts in making a decision like this and instead cajoled an intern on the Mission Operations Team to help her. So, she steeled herself and marched towards her crucifixion.

As anticipated, all eyes rested upon her when she knocked on the already opened door by way of announcing herself. Eamon, of course, had already reached boiling point and looked redder than the surface of the sun. Adam gave her a pitying "It-was-nice-knowing-you" sort of look whilst, as always, Danielle just sat in quiet contemplation of the whole scene. Aria didn't bother to say anything because she knew she wouldn't get a word in edgewise with Eamon in his infuriated state. He began with a series of incoherent stutters, splutters, and ramblings which typified his outbursts before calming enough to speak intelligibly which usually comprised of insults and unrelated criticisms until, at last, he remembered why he was mad in the first place, and so the real denouncements could begin. At the top of his voice, he asked, "I want to know exactly what hare-brained notion led you to do this. While you're at it, you can tell me as well what made you think you had the _right_ to make this decision without consulting me or anyone else?"

"Well…"

"No, no, no! Don't give me well, am, ah, or any of that time-buying bullshit while you come up with an excuse. In fact, don't bother telling me the truth or your version of it. As always, what it comes down to is that you think that you know better than me, than every member of this team, and you feel like that you by that virtue can do whatever the hell you want. So because of your reckless disregard, we have lost a mission in its prime and the thirteen years of work that went into it…"

While Eamon continued to berate her, Danielle had been reading a message on her phone silently in the corner. She was approaching retirement age and wore glasses on her aged face, but her hair remained resolutely black, but Aria didn't know if that was natural. Her manner was always calm and patient which was often to the point of being aggravating, especially for someone like Eamon. This was conveyed in her smiley expression as she put a hand up to quiet Eamon. "Ah, Eamon, dear, if you're quite done verbally assaulting Aria, I have some news."

"Danielle, this matter kind of takes precedence over anything you could tell me right now."

"How about the fact that they've just received a databurst from Messenger?"

Danielle continued to smile as Eamon regarded her with shock and disgust that she'd allowed him to go on like that. They were all in the control centre within five seconds, bearing down upon the nearest analyst with a computer. It just so happened that they'd found Moira, the Operations Team Manager, decompiling the databurst. She still looked frustrated, though, and Eamon asked, "What have we, Moira?"

"I'm not certain, I don't think we've actually regained control, all we have here is a backlog of twelve hours of imaging."

"Can you bring them up?"

"I'm trying, the files are incredibly compressed, much more so than if they're only twelve hours of pictures."

Eamon raised an eyebrow and then his expression was icy. He looked to Aria and said, "Okay, spit it out, what did you do, and why did you do it?"

Aria knew better than to hesitate again. "I had been going over the latest flyby images taken of Mercury's south polar region when I noticed a discrepancy. Water ice had been detected by a lack of radar signal return in the majority of the polar craters that were permanently sheltered from the sun. The same was true at the northern pole, except for one."

"What do you mean?"

"One of the southern craters had no ice, just this strange elongated formation, so I compared it to previous images of the crater and found that they showed just a normal ice-filled crater. I changed the probe's course to make a closer pass on the next orbit to take more detailed pictures."

"Anything else?"

"…I may have increased the frequency of photographing and ordered a short video feed to properly document the phenomenon. That's why the databurst is so large."

"Why would you do that?"

"Eamon, this phenomenon has occurred in a period of weeks, a ten-kilometre crater just emptied of material to be replaced by a new formation. This could be the first sign of extant geological activity on Mercury, the only other example of such on any of the inner worlds besides Earth. Surely that's worth investigating."

"And had you consulted me first, I might have agreed with you, but you jumped the gun, Aria, and now we have no idea of the state of Messenger. For all we know, this was an intense volcanic or electromagnetic event that has either damaged or completely destroyed the probe."

"I know, but I guess I was too excited to think of that."

"Well, I'm sure the NASA review board will look kindly on that excuse. How low did you programme it to fly?"

"…Less than five-hundred kilometres above the surface."

Moira interjected, "We have the pictures now…and a short video at the lowest point of Messenger's flyby."

"Can you bring them up so? I want to see what was worth the whole mission." Moira hadn't answered and seemed preoccupied with some other task. Eamon asked more aggravated now, "Moira, the pictures, please?"

"One moment…we're getting a weak signal on Messenger's usual channel…"

Aria jumped in. "So the probe is still operational?"

"It would appear so."

Eamon interjected, "Don't get your hopes up yet, this is still gonna be really bad for you."

Adam asked, "Why's the signal so weak?"

"Hold on a moment, I'm triangulating the source to update Messenger's location. It may be that it's heading for the far side of Mercury from us, though it shouldn't be but with Aria's course corrections…" Moira let that hang, and Aria shuffled uncomfortably. Then Moira uttered, "Oh no, this isn't good."

Eamon asked, "What? What?"

"I managed to get a better lock on the signal, but it's weak because Messenger is now transmitting from a very sheltered location…in the crater Aria was talking about."

"You mean…"

"Yes, Eamon, the Messenger has landed. It's almost dead centre in the crater atop that formation."

Eamon walked away, driving his fists into his temples as his temperature raised further. Moira continued to monitor the feedback from Messenger and said, "No, this can't be right."

"What now?"

"All the probe's instruments are intact, all its science instruments, comm. equipment, thrusters, all are responding to commands. If the probe really crash-landed, it should be a miracle that we're getting a signal at all."

"What're you suggesting then?"

"I dunno how any of this is possible. Messenger was never designed to land. Even a controlled landing would result in its systems being compromised somehow. I'm…at a loss."

Eamon was only mildly interested in this mystery, he was still enraged at this new predicament especially considering that NASA had just given an extension to the mission to keep it operational till 2015. Suddenly, a new window opened on Moira's screen. It was black with a flashing white I-bar. Eamon asked, exasperated, "What're you doing now?"

"Nothing, this just popped up…someone is piggybacking a signal on Messenger's channel."

"Who?"

"I don't know…signal is originating from Mercury also."

"Impossible." Eamon scoffed.

"It's what the data says."

Then, the I-bar moved forward and a short text came up. It read: I am half of halved, and I start in the middle.

They all stared at the text dumbfounded. Aria stepped forward and said, "It's some kind of riddle."

Eamon interjected, "We don't have time for this. Clearly, someone's playing with us. We've been hacked."

Moira said, "We haven't detected a hack. I just sent an email to JPL, and they are telling me that they've confirmed the source of the transmission, and that there's been no hacking of any computer mainframes anywhere in NASA."

"Then what is this? Are really contemplating the possibility that we've received an extra-terrestrial signal from Mercury?"

"Let's just play this one out, and see what happens. Agreed?"

Aria said, "Okay, "I am half of half, and I start in the middle". What's half of half?"

Adam replied, "A quarter."

"No, too simple and I don't get this start in the middle thing."

"Could it be a straight line? Halfway down a line is like being in the middle of it."

"Yeah but it says that I "start" in the middle."

Danielle suddenly uttered, "Very clever."

"What?"

"Where is Messenger now?"

"On Mercury."

"Where exactly?"

"In a crater, at the south pole."

"Courtesy of you." Eamon added.

Aria recoiled, but Danielle continued unfazed, "What is a crater essentially, Aria?"

"A big hole I suppose."

"A big _round_ hole to be precise."

"I don't know what you're getting at."

"A crater is a circle. If you start in the middle and work your way out, you have the radius which is half the diameter which, when drawn, has the effect of halving a circle."

"So the answer is radius?"

"No, too simplistic."

"What? Now I'm confused."

"Why is the radius of a circle an important value?"

Aria had no answer, but Moira replied, "Because you need it to determine the circumference of a circle."

"In combination with?"

"Pi."

Eamon asked disbelievingly, "Pi, seriously?"

"It is the best conclusion."

Moira had a go at typing the word "Pi" and then its symbol, but neither worked. Danielle said, "Try entering it in numbers. They may not recognise our terminology."

Eamon said, "Oh, so there's a "they" now. I still think we're dealing with sophisticated hackers/practical jokers and this is all a humongous waste of time…"

However, as Moira entered the number 3.141592. A new message appeared: All this has happened before, and it will happen again. Send someone. The hour is getting late.

Suddenly, one by one, Messenger's snapshots appeared on screen. At first, they showed nothing but an oval formation within the crater. Then, they zoomed in closer and closer, and a strange outline began to emerge, an artificial-looking one. They all gasped, and then the video played, but not the one Messenger recorded but a live feed direct from its location on the surface. They were all stunned by an insignia written on the surface of this structure., a strange bird with outstretched wings enclosed by a circle, and around that in Latin lettering and numbers "Battlestar Galactica BSG 75".


	7. Chapter 6 Flames Old & New

CHAPTER SIX:

Flames Old and NEW

JANUARY 19th, 2012…

Parmita still held her pistol right to Gregory's temple steady and unflinching, showing all the emotion of a stone. Gregory was in a similar state but only because he was too paralysed by the circumstances to do or say anything. However, that was just the shock, very soon his brain would catch up with what his senses were showing him, and he'd be a shameful mess, pleading for his life. On the flip side, a small ounce of courage was welling up within him because before him was his life's work. Was he really going to let fear of this woman take all that away from him? Parmita pressing the gun harder against his temple confirmed quite quickly that he would. Kevin, who didn't have a lethal weapon aimed at him, was more alert, but nonetheless terrified. He tried to speak but it came out in a splutter followed by a series of diminishing mumbles. Gregory finally found his senses and began losing his composure with a weak keening noise. He finally managed to mutter, "Parmita, we can, you know, talk about this?"

"I have made myself very clear, Mr. Barnes, do I really need to clarify further?" She replied, pressing the gun hard enough to his head that Gregory was forced to twist his neck away from her.

In some distress, he said, "I don't understand. What is this? We had a deal."

"What this is goes far beyond the limited understanding of a maverick such as yourself. Suffice it to say that it does not serve my particular interests. Now, Kevin, there is a case large enough for the artefacts just beside that crate. Remove the straw packaging from one of the crates, place them and straw inside the case, and hand it to me. If you do not comply, your boss's brains will be decorating the walls. Are we clear?"

She said all this coolly without looking at him once, which made the horrified Kevin obey without question. That little shred of courage Gregory had found earlier was reinvigorated by the sight of his hopes and dreams actually physically slipping away. He considered how likely any attempt to disarm her might fall in his favour but thought better of it. He knew one thing. He needed more explanation from Parmita than a few choice words that basically amounted to mind your own business. He looked at her imploringly and said, "Why are you doing this? You were supposed to help me. You knew what we might uncover."

"Actually, no, I didn't. At least I wasn't sure."

"Cut the cryptic nonsense, what is this really about?"

In a move that was faster than Gregory could blink, Parmita pistol-whipped him, knocking him to floor. The strike was not meant to knock him out, but the blood streaming down his face was a clear enough message for Gregory. Still, he found that courage had not left him entirely. In fact, he realised that he didn't really care what happened after this. Nearly two decades of work and theorising, of plotting and scheming his way past national authorities had culminated in this day, and now, for reasons beyond his control or understanding, all that was about to be lost to him. So, with a hand pressed to his bleeding scalp, he squinted up at his oppressor who still had a gun trained on him and said, "You know what, screw you. You can do whatever you want. You can kill me even. Just tell me why."

"You surprise me, Mr. Barnes, I had come to the conclusion that your balls were too diminutive for this much bravado."

"Please, if this is the way it has to go down, I would rather be dead then go through life knowing my greatest achievement was snatched away from me and not knowing why."

"Fatalistic little man you are, Mr. Barnes, with a good side order of melodramatics. However, if I were to relieve your mental anguish, I would then be forced to relieve you of your life."

"…Okay…"

"Okay?"

"Well, what's the point of living? I have only lived for this, for vindication of my beliefs about the world. I've given up everything else."

"Mr. Barnes, you don't think that will actually work, do you? You forget I've learned everything there is to know about you. You have much to live for besides your work; your money, your expensive possessions, your women, your general decadence. Vindication would merely be the icing on the cake for you."

"Not true, you know nothing about me, Parmita, except that bravado, the face that I present to the world. If I were a humble scholar without a penny to my name then no one would take me seriously. Even as it is, I am ridiculed for my theories. I have no other prospects of changing that, but these artefacts. If I can't have them, then what's the use in having anything else?"

Parmita raised an eyebrow and smirked a little. She then knelt in front of him and said, "Mr. Barnes, I would only kill you if you were honestly a threat, and you're not. At worst, if you had worked up the guts to attack me, I might have shot you in the leg. So, I think I can give you enough to ease your confusion, but not the whole story. In simplest terms, I am like you, only difference is I've had from birth what you have sought your whole adult life. Yes, there are things about humanity's past that are unknown to most, but not all. I am one of the few keepers of such knowledge left in the world, the last of an ancient line. However, there are others who would seek to bury such knowledge, my death and the destruction of what you've found would be prime on their agenda. That is why I live under the radar, assuming multiple identities, doing whatever work is necessary to keep myself hidden and protected. Now, so far, I've been very good at that. I keep up to speed with the latest info I can buy on my nemeses, and I keep moving. However, they are not without their resources. If you were to present these publically, they would know what they are and that you got help retrieving them. They'd know I'd be all over this. A little investigating would lead them to my associates who could be bribed or tortured into revealing me. I would rather that didn't come to pass, you understand?"

"You know, you basically just told me almost nothing."

"I know, believe me, you're safer that way and not just from me."

"Wait, back up, are you saying your current identity is false? Is Parmita even your real name?"

"And from what little I told you, that's what you take away from it. I urge you to think about exactly what I said, Mr. Barnes. I'm sure a man such as yourself could throw together a good yarn from that little blurb, keep you occupied for a few years. I'm sure your theories would amuse me greatly, and the money you earn might allow you to live a lifetime of decadence."

"So was anything you told me actually true?"

"You'll never know, Mr. Barnes. Mr. Pierce, I trust my case is in order."

"Yeah, yeah-yes, ma'am."

"Oh? Then, why haven't you put that one in?" She said, pointing at the aeroplane tail.

"Bu-but ma'am, that's just some modern detritus…"

"Is it?"

Kevin asked no more questions and grabbed the piece of metal gingerly, placing it inside the case. He turned to Parmita and said, "Okay, done."

Kevin's face exploded in a spray of blood as a shot went right through his left eye and exited out of the back of his skull in another hideous spray of blood and brain matter. Gregory's confusion set in first as Parmita hadn't even been aiming at him. After he realised that she hadn't actually fired the shot and was no longer facing him, remorse set in hard. This young man had been overwhelmed by the beguiling persona that Gregory had put on to recruit him, and he had died for promises that Gregory wasn't even sure he could keep at the time, but then, at the time, he hadn't really cared. Now, this young man's life and promise were extinguished in the blink of an eye, something Gregory had never witnessed in person, and he was distraught at the sight of it. He could no longer bear to look at the young man's lifeless body and so instead turned to the door where the shot seemed to have come from. His skipper, Omar, stood in the doorway holding a menacing semi-automatic pistol equipped with a silencer. Parmita looked a little perturbed but otherwise maintained her cool with a steady hand pointing her gun at Omar's head. An evil smirk crossed Omar's face as he said, "Parmita, it's nice to finally make your acquaintance."

"I don't believe I know you, Mr. Laurent, what I was able to dig up on you said nothing of any expertise with guns, or that you could possibly be of any concern to me."

"Ah, information these days can be so unreliable, and please, call me Omar."

"Who are you and what do you want?"

"Don't kid yourself, Parmita. You know who I am, your nemesis."

"I have many of those."

"But only one who truly frightens you."

"I am not afraid of you."

"I can see that, you have improved since our last encounter."

"Stop alluding to what you know about me and just spit it out."

"Very well, my name back in the day was Jacque. Do you remember now? You were a girl of fifteen, and your father was trying to keep you hidden from your nemesis in Nice."

Parmita's grip tightened on the trigger slightly. She gritted her teeth and odious anger filled her expression. She said, "What do you know about it? You were just some boy."

"Come now, Parmita, I was your friend, your lover, your confidant."

"It was you?"

"Why of course, how else do you think we found him through all his tricks and diversions and misinformation?"

"You are A-re?"

"I wasn't then, but I am now. The Sons of Ares are not easily impressed, but my deceiving you and giving them your father, that secured my place among their ranks."

"You know I cannot let you live, and I cannot let your passing be either quick or painless."

"Haha, such confidence, I am afraid, my dear Parmita, that it is misplaced. A coastguard vessel is on its way here, only it's full of A-re. Once these artefacts are suppressed forever, and you are killed in the most horrible fashions imaginable, our mission will be finally complete. Parmita, last of the Nayar line, dead and buried, along with all the heresy she carries."

Gregory hadn't dared speak. After the shock of Kevin's death and the revelation that not only was Parmita being truthful but that his long-time friend, Omar, was a member of some ancient and violent cult, he was pretty much speechless. Omar continued, "You might as well surrender now. Even if you were to get off this barge and back to land, we've done away with enough of your contacts to ensure you wouldn't get far."

"Anesh told you what I was up to?"

"Anesh, and again you were deceived. My dear Parmita, did you ever wonder why he isn't here? He is, after all, Gregory's captain. Why would he delegate running this rust bucket to me?"

"He said it was beneath him."

"He says a lot of things, everything we pay him to. You see, we put him in a position so that you might seek him out. He was the nectar, the resources and information a busy bee like you could not resist. We made sure he became more, though, a friend, a confidant once again, but you did one better, you treated him like a second father, which was rather appropriate, considering he took your first one from you."

Parmita almost lost her grip on her weapon when Omar uttered those words. She regained her self-control quickly but that momentary flinch said all that needed to be said in regards a woman like Parmita. Gregory imagined any grief or guilt she had, she could compartmentalise, store away to express later, but for now, she had to keep her wits about her. Otherwise, she would be meeting Anesh again but not on her terms. Omar smirked again and said, "This is the end of the road, Parmita. Many members of the original A-re families will be lining up for their turn to torture you. I am not A-re by birth, but my reward will be to be first in line. I promise not to hurt you too much though, at least not physically. I was thinking more along the lines of a trip down memory lane to our younger days. I sure did enjoy having you, body and soul."

A shot resounded in the cavernous hold, and Gregory found himself yanked to his feet before being cast down behind a crate. A few pinging noises followed by puffs of straw and splintering wood signalled Omar's return fire. Parmita peeked out from behind the crate to be greeted by several more shots. She ducked in just in time. A few moments later, after several ore volleys, there was silence. Gregory risked speaking in a not too subtle whisper. "Do you think he's out of ammo?"

"Shut up."

Parmita peeked out once again to see Omar was no longer behind the crate nearest the door. Gregory was still slightly dazed from Parmita' pistol-whipping, and a strange blurriness clouded the edges of his field of vision. Then, the blurs and afterimages became more solid, and his eyes were drawn towards his rear. Gregory rolled aside and shouted. Parmita turned just in time to meet Omar's charge. A quick kick knocked the gun from her hands and far across the hold. Parmita responded by back-flipping away and then landing a kick on his chest. Omar was momentarily winded but recovered fast and deflected a few following blows before catching Parmita's arm, twisting it behind her back, and pressing her against a crate. He whispered in her ear, "I still remember our nights together."

Parmita stamped his foot as hard as she could and then used her legs to push them both away from the crate. Omar smacked into an opposing crate hard, and Parmita took the chance to free herself. She drew up her foot and brought it down hard on Omar's right knee. There was a sickening crack, and Omar yelped in shock. He was left limping, and Parmita took full advantage. She delivered another kick to his chest that resounded with more cracks. She then kicked Omar's injured leg out from under him, and he fell on his left knee. She manoeuvred behind him, yanked his left arm back and in two moves, dislocated it and then broke it. Omar fell forward in obvious agony. Parmita then squatted down over his upper back, grabbed his head by the back of his skull and his chin. She whispered to him rather loudly, "I remember our nights, too, Jacque. What a disappointment they were."

A single twist ended Omar's life. Gregory managed to stand shakily but needed to support himself against a crate. Parmita eyed him and then her pistol across the floor. Gregory saw that look and asked, "I guess I learned too much."

"You did, but I never actually intended to kill you, Gregory, no matter what you learned. You're in too deep now anyhow. The Sons of Ares are probably aware of you. They're the ones you have to worry about now."

"They're on their way. We should get to the bridge and get this tub moving."

"I'm sorry, Gregory, but this man was A-re, and I know how they operate. He would be very efficient about it. Your crew is already dead, and they probably plan to sink the ship. I imagine there's an explosive attached to the hull somewhere."

"Oh my God, all of them, a lot of them were good friends, are you…"

"Yes, Gregory, I'm sorry, you have my condolences, but we need to get off this ship."

"Well, there's a few inflatable rafts…"

"No, I hope you're up for a swim because that's how we're getting to shore."

"The scuba gear is on deck."

"Very good, do we have harpoons?"

"Yeah, a few I think. Why?"

"You're bleeding, we'll need them for the sharks."

Gregory's blood suddenly ran cold. He asked, "How far are we from shore?"

"A dozen or so miles, and the current is fairly strong here. It'll be tough going."

"Are you sure we can make it?"

"Not even remotely but if we take a raft, we'll be spotted by the A-re and they'll run us down. We need to be inconspicuous."

"But you heard Omar; he said they could find us even if we make it to land. All your contacts are compromised, and they know we're in the area."

"Don't worry about it. I knew Gujarat like the back of my hand. I can get us out of the state at least."

"And then what?"

"We're off to New Delhi. I have a friend there who can help us."

"But…"

"He's CIA, Gregory. No need to worry about people getting to him and besides, I doubt they know I've worked for him before."

"You what?"

"I'm not an agent, Gregory. Keep your nerdy pants on. I just do contract work sometimes."

"As long as he's not another an old friend. They all seem to have something against you."

"Don't worry, this one's new. He hasn't known me long enough to hold a grudge."

They donned their scuba gear and were in the water, harpoons at the ready and artefacts, in about five minutes. They were barely two hundred yards out when a dull boom came from the underside of the ship, bubbles erupted, and it began to sink. The A-re ship approached from the other side, clearly expecting to find a raft with Omar and their quarry. They searched the waters through the night, but to no avail.


	8. Chapter 7 Notes from Eve

CHAPTER Seven:

Notes from Eve

JANUARY 24th, 2012…

Anna was due to meet her Tanzanian counterpart any moment now. Inaya Sibale was one of the most respected archaeologists in the international community, primarily for her discovery of Mitochondrial Eve, but her work prior to that had significantly advanced understanding of man's origins in the East African region. Anna had to admit she admired the woman, envied her even. She seemed so strong and confident the few times she'd seen her in public presentations and conferences. She remembered one incident in particular when she was giving a presentation about her findings of anatomically modern humans further back in the fossil record than science at the time generally deemed possible. A rather petulant little English professor sitting in the front row questioned her competence in a rather impolite manner and persisted to interrupt her when she gracefully deflected his comments. Then, after one extremely snide remark, Inaya returned the man's criticisms with ones of her own, including questioning his own work in the field, his apparently non-existent reputation, and his general lack of decorum which led to a rather stinging comment about his upbringing. The audience retained some dignity, only registering their amusement with some shuffling and a series of fake coughs, but that man did not so much as whisper for the rest of her presentation. Anna knew that even in the face of an arrogant little pest such as that that she would crumble, especially given recent events in her life.

So it went without saying that hallucinations of the living representation of a fossilised man could only add to her strain. She had long since decided that her sanity was slipping away from her ever since the incident at the university lab when this first began. Since then, her episodes had increased in duration and frequency and quite often had a disturbingly sexual quality to them. For one thing, this man always appeared naked and in uncomfortably close proximity. Three times he had appeared in her bed and another incident in her shower, and he appeared almost every day sitting on her sofa while she huddled in on herself in terror of her own failing mind. Mostly he would say nothing but her name and the odd cryptic message. However, on this occasion, he chose to speak in a more conversational tone. "Hello, my Anna, big day today, huh?"

"Oh my God!"

Donald, who stood beside her in anticipation of Inaya's arrival at the university archaeological department, said, "Anna, is everything all right?"

"Yes, yes, of course, could you excuse me for a moment?"

"Now? Inaya is due any minute. I thought you were desperate to meet her."

"I am, believe me, but I have another pressing matter to attend to."

"What could be so important?"

"It is…a female issue, Donald."

Donald proceeded from confused to embarrassed to a silent nod and looking in the other direction in about five seconds. Anna quickly excused herself. She hated to make Donald uncomfortable, but a man of his age and disposition would be effectively dissuaded from further inquiry with those few words. She made it to the nearest bathroom inside the building and sealed herself on a cubicle. The hallucination was no longer there, but she needed to calm down. Her heart was racing, she was red in the face, and she was perspiring like crazy. She tried to control her breathing but found herself to be too tense. She decided she needed to sit for a moment and gather herself before she faced her idol. Then, just as she sat herself down, she noticed it didn't feel like a toilet seat. She turned and the man said, "Comfortable?"

She jumped and screeched quite loudly. A woman in a nearby cubicle called, "Are you okay in there?"

"Yeah…I thought I saw a mouse."

The man smirked at that, and Anna immediately regretted the excuse. She kept her back turned on the illusory figure and stared at the ceiling. As best she could, she tried to regain a hold on reality, but the eerie sense of his presence would not fade, and her eyes began to water in defeat. She slumped then against the cubicle wall and held her face in her hand. The man said, "Come now, Anna, it's not all bad. Am I really that unpleasant?"

"You're not real." She whimpered.

"Yes, I suppose I'm not real in any sense that your limited mind could comprehend, but on some level of reality, I do exist."

A small bit of hysteria crept in, and Anna giggled with tears streaming down her face. She said, "My own subconscious is insulting me."

"I am not a figment of your imagination or your subconscious trying to tell you something. I am an entity entirely separate from you and your issues."

"Of course you are."

Suddenly, the man stood. He pulled her by the shoulder and pressed her against the cubicle wall. In a moment, his lips were on hers. She could feel the warmth of his body and his lips on hers, she could feel his breath and his facial hair, she could taste him and smell his muskiness. Almost as soon as it started, it was over. The man stepped back and said, "Tell me, what hallucination could do that?"

Anna was without words for a few brief moments. Part of her had not wanted him to stop, and she was a little taken aback by the passion of the embrace. She said a little weakly, "I could've imagined those sensations."

"Did you also imagine yourself being grabbed and pushed against the wall?"

"…This isn't right. I-I can't be talking with you. I've already reached such heights of craziness. I can't…I can't…"

Then, he took her hands gently and said, "Calm down."

Suddenly, an overwhelming lightness overcame her, and all her stress and anxiety seemed to evaporate. Then, with a note of lucidity about her, she asked, "How did you do that?"

"Get you out of the loony bin? Just one of my many talents, My Anna, you can thank me later." He winked at her, which drew her attention dangerously south.

She exclaimed, "Oh my, ah, some clothes might not go amiss, after a cold shower."

"Oh, my apologies, how inconsiderate of me. No wonder you've been swooning so much this last week, poor thing."

"Well, you're still naked…and, well…" she gestured at his lower half whilst staring intently at the door.

He laughed and said, "Is this more appropriate?" He suddenly was fully dressed in denim jeans, a vest and an off-white shirt completely open at the front.

Anna nodded and said, "Yes, a bit young for you, though."

"Why, Anna, I'm hurt. I'm a spry, young thing. I only just turned one-hundred and fifty thousand."

"If you say so."

"Hmm, sorry again for my nakedness, it's just when I was alive in your sense of the word, I didn't really wear much except some animal skins in winter."

"O-kay, so what should I call you?"

"My name is Galen, Galen Tyrol, a pleasure to make you acquaintance, Anna McLaren."

"Galen, that sounds familiar."

"It should, your culture is named for me."

"As in Gaelic?"

"Ahuh."

"No, not a chance, the Gaelic culture only emerged a few thousand years ago."

"So far as you know, my Anna. Hasn't your whole world view been recently turned on its head?"

"Okay, point taken, but enough debate, what do you want from me?"

"For you to be prepared for your destiny."

"Wow, that was epic."

"Don't joke, Anna," he said, very stern all of a sudden, "Events are already in motion. This cycle of time has seen humanity grow in relative peace. Its climax is nigh. You have a part to play, so does Inaya. There are others also. Only the Five can see mankind through the turmoil that is to come. Go to her, Anna. With her, seek the truth. This is only the beginning."

And just like that, he was gone. Anna was speechless. What could she really say to that prophetic statement? However, she found herself still calm, collected, and more than ready for her meeting with Inaya. She left the bathroom and walked intently into the reception area of the Archaeology building. Inaya stood near the front desk with Donald, both of them looking rather concerned. Inaya was quite a tall woman, near enough to six foot. She was quite a beauty, too, especially considering she was middle-aged. Her smooth ebony skin flowed over flawless facial features and a svelte figure. Her hair was close-cut, but her face was too stunning for it to matter. She wore a businesswoman's suit with a blouse, pencil skirt, and blazer, but the colour scheme and patterning of the clothes had a distinctly African flare, except for the plain, white blouse. Anna, steadier and more certain of herself than she had been in years, walked right up to her, extended a hand, and said, "Dr. Sibale, it's an honour to finally meet you, I haven't had an opportunity before to catch you at one of your seminars. I hope you will excuse me for not meeting you when you arrived."

Taking her hand, Inaya replied, "Of course, Dr. McLaren, and please, call me Inaya."

"Anna."

"I understand you've made a tremendous find here in the UK, something even more astounding than Eve."

"I could hardly say that it lessens the significance of your discovery."

"Indeed, I would even say that it compliments it."

Donald asked, "Could you explain that, Inaya?"

"Perhaps I can, in a less public setting…"

"Of course, follow me to our specimen lab."

They traversed the maze of corridors to the restricted access section of the archaeology building where the most sensitive finds were kept. On entering, Betws-y-Coed Man still lay on the examination table and on a nearby bench, the bizarre collection of artefacts that were found with him. Inaya was drawn to these first. She asked, "Did you really find these in sediments so old?"

"Yes, and since then, much to my dismay, the age of those items has been further confirmed."

"Donald, this is a time for wonder, not dismay. We are scientists, and our field in particular has always been criticised for its intransigence."

"I know, I know, it's all just a lot to take in."

"Then what I have to show you will not help matters."

"Inaya?"

"I dared not reveal all I found with Eve to the scientific community for fear of ridicule. It seemed impossible."

Anna asked, shocked, "You withheld some of your discoveries?"

"With good reason, Anna. To claim what I found to be anything but a hoax would have ruined my standing, and many have sought to tear me down for far less radical theories."

"What could be so controversial?"

Inaya had been carrying a briefcase. She placed it on a free bench and unclipped it. On opening it, there was a deathly silence in the room. There were three clay tablets, each with a few short paragraphs of writing on them. If that was not astounding enough, the inscriptions, although not neat, were clearly in English. Donald just shook his head and stepped away for a minute. Anna stared in awe. She asked, "And their age has been confirmed?"

"As old as Eve herself."

"How is this possible? I mean it's in English."

"I am as bewildered as you. I found hundreds of fragments of broken tablets with individual words still visible on them, but these I found with her body. They were the only complete ones."

Anna squinted to examine the scribbly writing. It seemed to belong to someone who was not familiar with the art. It was a short note, it read:

"_My name is Hera. I am nine years old, and this is my first diary entry. Mommy and Daddy think it's really important that I learn to write, but I really don't see why. It won't help me catch food or start a fire or find shelter. Anyways, Mommy's frowning at me now, so that will be all for today_."

The second one read:

"_I love him. There's nothing more to it. Yes, he's younger and quieter and not as crazy, but he is my match. My father thinks I'm crazy to want to be with someone so much so young, but Mother seems to understand. Liam, if ever you read this while I still draw breath, I will kill you but if death should part us, know that my heart was always yours, my love, my everything_."

The last was somewhat different. It seemed to be merely a list, a list of names. Some had worn completely, but a few were still legible, Gaius Baltar, Caprica Six, Saul Tigh, Ellen Tigh, Lee Adama, Sherman Cottle and many others. Two notes were inscribed at the very bottom:

"_My darling daughter, I will miss you always. I hope one day to see you again. Give my love to your father."_

"_My love, I hope you knew that my heart was always yours, too. If you had not left me our beautiful daughter, Azura, I can't imagine going on without you by my side. I love you. I will cherish and protect our baby always, and I'll make sure she knows her mother. Goodbye."_

Anna stated, "It's like a headstone of sorts."

"Yes, Anna, but these names, Hera, Azura, Liam, they all belong to cultures that exist or have existed in the recent past, at least compared to Eve."

"I guess we can't call her that anymore."

"Oh my, yes, what am I to do, Anna?"

There were three loud bangs, and Donald fell limp into an expanding pool of his own blood. Both women stood back aghast at the sight of the poor man's dead body. Several men stood in the hallway, brandishing pistols and all wearing black suits. The foremost man almost brought Anna back down into the depths of terror that she had dwelt in for months. She said lowly, "Aidin!"

"Anna, my darling wife, I'm afraid you'll be coming with me and my friends. We have need of you both, but don't worry, it'll be far less unpleasant than our last encounter."


	9. Chapter 8 Metis

CHAPTER eight:

Metis

JANUARY 25th, 2012…

"I have chosen a name."

That was the latest abrupt statement made by a seemingly sentient entity that apparently dwelled within an ancient spaceship crashed on Mercury that bore an English insignia. Aria had had her whole perception of reality turned inside out by this impossible being. Her boss, Eamon, faired much worse than herself, having to be excused and eventually needing to return home for the rest of the day. Most of them bore the current events with more or less the same mixture of awe, confusion, perturbation and denial. Danielle was a great deal more composed, however, greeting this discovery as it should be; with curiosity and wonder. Aria couldn't bring herself to having the same calm acceptance, there was too much wrong with this scenario. With all possibilities of this being an elaborate computer hoax exhausted, there was no recourse but to take this as it was. Yet, how could she accept this talking spaceship existing without allowing for some wild pseudoscientific theory involving time travel or visitors from another dimension or aliens who happened to also speak the Queen's English. It was all too mindboggling, and yet, there it was, staring her straight in the face and awaiting a response.

If Aria had learned anything, it was that this being was patient, not seeming to perceive time on the same scales as herself. She had debated for nearly an hour at times with her colleagues as to how they should respond to each simple message it had sent, and it just waited, not rushing or sending additional messages. Even so, they had set up a microphone to speed up communication, which also dissuaded argument on their end as to what to say to the being. She pressed a button, spoke into it, and her words were converted into a text message to be sent to the entity. She asked, "And what would that be?"

As was to be expected, there was a few minutes delay for the message to reach Mercury and for a response to return but the being seemed to have to consider its answers like it had one prepared for everything. It replied, "I am to be known as Metis."

"Metis?"

"I observed your Greek culture once worshipped her as a Titaness of Mercury. It seems fitting."

"Yes, I can see why." Aria still had to get used to the fact that the being, or Metis, had observed all of human history, and civilisation proper on Earth was merely the latest news to it. Danielle, who sat nearby with Moira, asked, "Aria, may I?" Gesturing towards the micro, phone.

"Of course."

"Metis, I have a question for you. How is it that we only found you now?"

"Hello, Danielle, the answer is quite simple. I allowed it to be so."

Even Danielle was weirded out by Metis's ability to know who it was speaking with. She asked, "Meaning you prevented us from seeing you before?"

"Not actively until recently, passive measures to prevent you from observing the subtleties of my observations and mild interference but Messenger was quite a direct observer, so, until I was ready, I fooled its senses into believing I was not there. It is a rather uncomplicated being compared to myself, it was not hard."

It seemed to perceive Messenger like an adult might regard a baby, though Aria thought the difference between the two was more akin to that between a man and a god. Aria then asked, "What do you mean ready?"

"It is time for my reawakening."

"I see, is there some special significance to the current time period?"

For once, Metis delayed slightly in replying. "Yes, but the time has not yet come to reveal that to you. Just know events are in motion that you shall take part in, and they will be significant."

"You mean the human race?"

"I mean you, Aria."

Just as she was about to utter a response, Eamon came in followed by several men dressed in black suits, and a balding, middle-aged man in a camel-coloured pants and blazer with a white shirt. He grinned permanently, but his eyes were cold, and Aria found his presence disconcerting. Eamon spoke first, "This is Senator, Howard Baye. He's been assigned by the White House to deal with this event and liaison with us."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all."

Aria found his southern drawl irritating, and his amiable demeanour contrived. For some reason, she was really repelled by him. Eamon looked quite ill at ease as he said, "The pleasure is all ours, Senator, welcome."

"Well, this is quite the operation you got going here. I imagine it don't come cheap to play space cadets, even if it is from the ground."

"Senator?"

"Never mind, however, I am here to inform you that operations here will be solely focused on this entity you've found, if that's what it is. Personally, I think we'll get a rude awakening when we discover how fraudulent this so-called discovery is."

"We were already prepared for that, Senator, and we can assure that all possibilities of a hoax have been ruled out."

"Don't kid yourself, Eamon. There are geeks out there who know more about computers than even you."

Aria could only feel dislike for the man, hatred even, and she was rapidly working up to malice. She asked rather impudently, "Senator, if I may say so, you didn't have to come down here to tell us how to do our jobs, so I assume you have some other agenda."

Everyone's eyes were on her and there were several sharp intakes of breath. Aria herself was shocked, she was not usually so brazen and had no idea what had come over her. Senator Baye's smile did not falter, but his eyes seemed to turn to ice. He said, "Now, Eamon, you've got a sassy one here. Who might you be, young lady?"

"Aria Chey, project manager."

"Well, Ms Chey, you are quite presumptuous to ask me about my business, but I wasn't plannin' on keepin' my intentions here a secret now."

"How do you mean?"

"I mean you can all pack it in. The Department of Defence is running the show from here on out. We'll get to the bottom of this."

Aria suddenly felt rage that she was unable to contain. She asked vehemently, "To the bottom of what? We've already confirmed the validity of this discovery. You can't just cover this up, and make it out to be a hoax."

"Miss, you may forget sometimes, but you work for the United States government and if we tell you that that's what you're gonna do, well you can be damn sure you're going to do it, or there will be consequences, namely federal prison."

Eamon dared step to the Senator and said, "This is outrageous. The value of this discovery is beyond words. I can't just let you sweep it under the rug."

"Eamon, this ain't about what you _let_ happen. The decision is no longer yours. Now you mind taking a few steps back, or my bodyguards might have to get discourteous."

Eamon reluctantly backed away. Suddenly, a sound boomed from every speaker and intercom in the room, a synthetic, thundering voice that was almost deafening. Large text appeared on every screen. The voice said,

"_Turning and turning in the widening gyre, the falcon cannot hear the falconer. Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold. Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world. The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere, the ceremony of innocence is drowned. The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity_."

Senator Baye shouted, "What the hell is that?"

The voice replied to him, "I am Metis, good Senator, I am that which you seek to conceal from humanity, I am that which you seek to control, and I am also what you most fear. Know this, I have power on your world, power to turn everything around you to my purpose and right now, you stand in the way of that."

"No! I won't allow you to derail what has taken millennia to bring to fruition."

"Your plan is my plan, Senator, or, at least, yours is a small part of mine. You will serve your purpose no matter how much you think you're resisting, you'll see."

Eamon shouted, "Senator, what is this about?"

"Shut up!"

Metis spoke once more, "There is nothing you can do to alter the course, Senator. Too long have you and your kin interfered with Destiny & Fate and sought to bend and corrupt its path to your own will. No more!"

There was a great surge, and sparks erupted from every station. The whole room went dead, but adjacent sections seemed to still have power and working equipment. Aria's computer screen flickered for a second, and the cursor reappeared. I single message appeared:

"_Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so perishes the hope of the godless. Job 8:12-14_."

The Senator was stunned but seemingly outraged at the same time. Aria read the line and smiled. The Senator said, "What're you so happy about?"

"Well, good Senator, I think you were just overruled."


	10. Chapter 9 Reality Check

CHAPTER eight:

Reality Check

February 1ST, 2012…

The trip from Gujarat to New Delhi was anything but average. All normal modes of transport were out, cars, trains, planes; anything that could be observed or tracked was out of the question, at least according to Parmita. Of course, Gregory persisted to complain about the long trek until Parmita threatened to pistol-whip him and leave him in a ditch somewhere. After that, silence came more easily. They used only the most untraveled, rural routes and avoided towns and villages as best they could. Eventually, they fell in with a market caravan heading to New Delhi and disguised themselves in local dress. Parmita wrapped her face up in a head scarf and only left her eyes uncovered. She insisted that Gregory keep his head down and not to make eye contact with anyone. Of course, he failed on multiple occasions between Gujarat and New Delhi and subsequently felt the chill of Parmita's icy scorn. However, he soon realised that New Delhi itself would be the hardest part. Gregory knew New Delhi, he had petitioned many high-level politicians here for support in overruling the Gujarat authorities so he might explore the underwater ruins. His efforts were in vain, of course, but it did not prevent him enjoying the sights and experiences to be had in the city. Therefore, the fact that Parmita insisted they take the most roundabout course through the city's most decrepit and often most dangerous areas, following back alleys, did not appeal to him one bit. Despite his internal protestations, he dared not voice his objections.

It was nearly dusk before they arrived at an unremarkable building on the far side of the city from where they entered. It was a four-storey affair and quite run down with cracking plaster on the walls, several broken windows, and a warped front door that swung wide open. Conditions inside were no better. Everything was damp and a mouldy smell hung heavy in the air. Paint peeled from every wall and assorted debris littered the rotten floor slats. Gregory watched his step, gingerly tiptoeing over piles of rubbish whilst Parmita deftly and coolly side-stepped every obstacle without looking down once. As far as he could tell, the building was abandoned save for a few squatters, and it seemed to lack electricity and probably any other services. He had no idea why they were here, and he'd almost worked up enough bravery to question Parmita when she suddenly crouched down. Thinking she'd seen someone up ahead, he followed suit. However, she reached down and pulled up a sheet of plastic covered in dust and debris that concealed a trapdoor. With some effort, she pulled it up and artificial light lit up the almost pitch-black corridor.

There was a short flight of stairs that led down into a basement floor. Parmita ushered Gregory in and then pulled the hatch down behind them. The space was large and three desks boasted radio and computer equipment that Gregory couldn't begin to wrap his head around. Most of the walls were covered in newspaper clippings, technical reports, schematics, building layouts, you name it and somewhere it was pinned up. Then, out of a walled-off corner furthest from the stairs came a wiry, Indian man wearing nothing but a pair of briefs. He turned and saw Gregory and seemed to be reaching behind him onto a desk, probably for a concealed weapon. He then caught sight of Parmita and stopped groping around but still did not withdraw his arm which now tensed as if he was gripping something tightly. She seemed unimpressed and said, "Really, Chakri, I could have killed you ten times by now."

"Well, I normally don't anticipate visitors."

"A foolish policy and a poor excuse, this place is not exactly a safe haven. It might not necessarily be an A-re who comes nosing down here."

"It's okay, Parmita, the only visitors I have are prostitutes, and they're usually frivolous, flighty little things. I doubt they could distinguish one rundown hovel from another if they were pressed."

"You invite women down here? Women who would have quite a bit to gain by volunteering info about your location to the right people?"

"Keep your panties on, sweetheart, I slip them a little something before they leave."

"Date-rape drugs?" Parmita looked like she'd spontaneously combust.

"Yeah but it's not like I use them to get laid. They come willingly, and they leave the same way, just a little more dopey and with some short-term memory issues."

"For fuck sake, can you not act professionally for once?"

"I object to that, I do my work to the utmost standards, but a man has needs, and it is quite lonely down here. By the way, who's our pervy guest? No offence, man, I take your looking as a compliment, but I don't like to cross swords with other men so to speak."

Gregory knew he had not been looking in that way, but fear of the situation had led him to freeze unblinkingly. At least he hoped so, he had enough going on at this point without having to question his sexuality. Parmita cast her eyes to heaven and said, "This is Gregory, my latest employer now become pain-in-my-backside. And don't worry, Chakri, you're not his type. If anything, he's as randy as you when women are about. However, you might want to consider some trousers, Chakri, you are rather protrusive, and poor Gregory might find that rather intimidating."

"Why, Parmita, that is probably the nicest thing you've ever said to me." He smiled quite contentedly and then regarded Gregory with mock regret, saying, "Sorry, man, but don't stress out about it. Not all of us can be this gifted."

Chakri returned to the walled-off compartment for a few minutes. The conversation happened too fast for Gregory to object and despite all that was happening, he found himself very offended. Parmita, he sensed, knew as much, and he believed an amused smile briefly touched her lips. Chakri returned wearing precious little more than what he had been, a pair of tan linen shorts and a worn white vest. He sat at a computer opposite his compartment, and Parmita pulled up a rather rickety chair and sat facing him. Chakri said, "What's your name by the way, man?"

"…Am, Gregory, Gregory Barnes…"

"The famous dissenter, I've heard of you. Full of wild ideas, at least in the eyes of the archaeological community, and very rich, too, from writing them down in all your bestsellers. I guess if nature has left you at a disadvantage, then you need some amount of flash to attract the ladies."

"Now hold on just a sec…"

"It's okay, man, we all have our ways and means. By the way, I apologise for my state of dress when you came in that disturbed you so. As I mentioned, I don't normally have unexpected visitors, and it does get stiflingly warm down here during the day, especially if I have company, you're lucky you didn't get a full frontal actually."

"Dear Lord…" Gregory stepped away a moment.

Parmita interjected, "You know, it wouldn't hurt if you exercised some modesty now and again. _I_ do come down here unannounced often enough."

"Yeah, but it's nothing you haven't seen already, and I'm totally at ease with it."

"As long as _you're _comfortable, I suppose."

"I'm glad we're in agreement. Now, I assume you had something more important to discuss with me besides my proclivities towards near-naturism."

"Hmm, indeed, I need you to bring me up to speed with A-re activities for the last three months."

"All their activities in the city? That's a lot more info than you generally require."

"I mean the country, Chakri."

"As in India?"

"No, Chakri, Monaco, of course, I mean India!"

"Okay, okay, rein in the hormones please."

Gregory was astounded that this depraved lady's man would dare speak to a woman like Parmita in this way. She, however, let it slide and said, "I had an encounter which leads me to believe they have something big in the works. I plan to throw as many wrenches into their operation as possible."

"You normally want to know enough to avoid them."

"Things change. I have personal reasons to pursue them. In addition, they attempted to steal some finds made at the site in the Bay of Khambhat. I want to know why."

"Well, surely you of all people know the answer to that question. They destroy archaeological evidence of humanity's past as a matter of course."

Gregory exclaimed, "You mean you know, too?"

"Seriously? Man, I am a part of a black ops division that specifically targets the activities of the Sons of Ares and has been doing so for the past fifty years. I have worked this post for eighteen years, spying and collecting data to pass on to headquarters .So yeah, I have a fair knowledge of their MO."

"Eighteen years? How old are you?"

"How flattering, I know, I know, I am a rather spry and youthful-looking forty-two year old. Man, are you sure you're not the least bit bicurious because you're kinda flirting with me?"

Gregory stormed off in agitation. Parmita said, "Don't let him get under your skin, Mr. Barnes, it'll only please him all the more and given the turn this conversation has taken, I doubt you want to do that."

"Whatever! Why's the CIA so interested in a cult who steal and desecrate archaeological artefacts anyways?"

"Their operation is a lot broader than that, my friend. They have their fingers in everything from governments to major corporations to crime syndicates. There's little going on in the world that they don't have a hand in and if the CIA hadn't accidently stumbled upon the group in the early Sixties; they'd probably have usurped whole governments by now. They're not just about secrecy and stealth; they're about money, resources and power, too."

"But if they've been around as long as you both think they have, how come they haven't conquered the world already?"

Parmita answered, "Many have stood against them over the millennia. A number of ancient family lines, including my own, dedicated themselves to fighting the oppression of the Sons of Ares. Unfortunately, most of them have died out. Those few who have survived have usually disappeared into obscurity, their descendants having no knowledge of their lineage's valiant past, except for mine of course."

"It seems to me then that the CIA is the latest contender fighting an implacable, even invincible enemy."

Chakri answered, "Implacable, yes, invincible? Certainly not. We aren't operating alone either. The Sons of Ares are a global threat and therefore require a global response. The intelligence agencies of almost every country on the planet work to undermine them through espionage and sabotage. In the Sixties and Seventies when only the CIA, MI6, and the KGB were aware of the A-re, they were poised to instigate a number of major coups in the corporate world and in dozens of national governments. Today, thanks to our actions, the reach of their operations has scaled back to less than fifty percent of what it was then. That's not to say they're not a threat anymore, but they are certainly a less significant one."

"That's amazing. It's hard to believe all this could be going on in the world and for so many years."

Parmita cocked an eyebrow and said, "You surprise me, Mr. Barnes. Given your field of expertise, I thought such a claim would come as little surprise to you."

"My field is archaeology and finding truths about the distant past that no one else will look for, but if you told me a month ago that all this was happening under our very noses, I would have scoffed at the idea."

"You are a somewhat more complex individual than I previously believed."

"Thank you, I think."

"Now, Chakri, about that info…"

"Well, Parmita, you're gonna have to be more specific. I can give you everything I've got for the past three months in India, but it won't be light reading, and a lot of it is largely routine."

"Then just fill me in on their less routine operations."

"Well, to be honest, there's little in the way of unusual. They attempted a terrorist strike in Mumbai, but the device was diffused before it detonated. There was an assassination attempt here actually on the CIA's contact in Indian Intelligence, but that was thwarted, too."

"Chakri, these things are the least boring of the A-re's routine activities. Is there even anything going on internationally involving India?"

"Well, now that you mention it, a large shipment of unknown content left Gujarat on the 5th of January bound for the Suez Canal. However, after that, we lost track of the transport. We suspect some sort of transfer occurred in the Eastern Med and that the previous ship was sunk. Some floating debris was found in the region that was consistent with that vessel."

"Were any other ships in the area at the time?"

"Ninety-three, of which more than half could have received the A-re ship's cargo. We had trouble keeping track of all of them, but those we've caught up with so far have been cleared. I can give you a list of the remaining suspects, but Parmita, I'll only warn you once, do not compromise our existing operations. Most of the intelligence forces of Europe are on this case, so keep a low profile, and you got nothing from me."

"I know how to be subtle, Chakri. How much of a lead would you say they have?"

"We're monitoring all ports and the Straits of Gibraltar in case they try to make for the Atlantic, but so far, nothing's turned up. You may catch up rather quickly, seeing as they're still trying to make arrangements to unload."

Gregory asked, "This may be a stupid question but couldn't they drop off their cargo at any random beach in the Mediterranean?"

"Well, it was a large cargo container. Unloading off a ship and bringing it ashore would be a tricky venture and then they'd have to find some way to transport it over land. You're right, though, we believe that's what they're contemplating so that they go unobserved, but we're monitoring the whole region via spy satellites, and we're keeping track of all vehicles large enough to transport the container. If a truck approaches some remote beach, we'll know about it."

Parmita said, "Very good, keep me informed through the usual channels and please, do have more consideration for yourself than to be cavorting with whatever wench happens to tickle your fancy."

"Wench? Parmita, I'm hurt. I pay good money to "cavort" with New Delhi's finest female escorts, the best women around. It's just unfortunate that you yourself wouldn't take money for such things."

"…Why, Chakri, I do believe that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

"I try, so how much sedative do you think it'll take to knock out Mr. pervy over here?"

"Chakri…"

"What? He can't know about this place any more than the escorts can, and I'm not accustomed to measuring my doses for a man, let alone one his size."

Gregory' self-consciousness caused him to check how much his stomach protruded before considering that he was being threatened with sedation. He said, "I won't speak a word of this, I swear. Besides, if I double-cross you, I'll have Parmita to answer to."

"Indeed, I guess I'm fairly safe then."


	11. Chapter 10 Enmity

CHAPTER ten:

enmity

February 5th, 2012

Despite her fear, Anna could not help but contemplate the hundred and one different ways she would like to see Aidin suffer and die. However, her fear was a parasite draining whatever spirit she might have left and so, while she lay on the ground bound and gagged, she could do nothing but crumble under Aidin's spiteful leering. Tears streamed down her face every time he approached. He would whisper obscenities into her ear or reminders of that horrible night when he took away everything. In complete honesty, she did not know if this encounter were any better than the last. She sat helpless constantly flinching in fear of the vile man looming over her and in terror of the power he held. For all her wishes of retribution, she had neither the will or the strength left for any sort of conviction, let alone to see them through. Inaya was indeed a stronger woman than Anna. She faced the situation with nothing less than calmness and stoicism. Anna envied her bravery, but felt as well that it might be foolhardy given their circumstances. They'd been trapped for over a week in the back of truck with barely any light. They were spoon-fed some vile mushy concoction and humiliatingly forced to go toilet into a bucket. They knew they were travelling obviously, but to where and how long for were difficult to ascertain. There were many stops made, too, that lasted anywhere from a few minutes to most of a day.

Inaya seemed to be able to roughly keep track of time so on what she supposed was the eleventh day, they came to a halt. Bright sunlight seeped in through the seams and air was noticeably warmer than the February chill they'd left behind in Scotland. Aidin had not been in since the last stop about twelve hours previous. However, any hopes that he had departed were immediately dashed when the trailer door came down suddenly letting blinding sunlight flood the compartment. Anna heard Aidin's stomach-churning, sibilant voice before her eyes adjusted enough for her to look upon that face that she reviled so much. He smiled that wicked grin at her and with one powerful hand, pulled her to her feet by her upper arm. His grip was painful and he did not loosen it when she was standing. He grabbed Inaya at the same time by her collar and heaved them both out.

Anna could definitely tell they were far from Britain. The skies were clear blue, the ground was dry, almost parched, and the vegetation seemed Mediterranean. They were at a collection of warehouses that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, far from any towns or cities. Anna could smell salt on the air and knew the sea must be nearby. The isolation of the place didn't seem to bode well for any escape plan they might hatch, but such hopes seemed futile to Anna anyways. A number of men holding rather vicious looking guns escorted them inside the nearest warehouse where they emerged into a closed off area, but through nearby windows it was clear the whole building was stacked high with crates of various sizes. Aidin turned to face them both. He nodded and one of the men removed their gags and restraints. He then said, "Welcome to Greece, ladies. I trust your travels weren't too uncomfortable."

Many things occurred to Anna to say at that point but none she was brave enough to actually voice. Inaya, however, was less inhibited. "Spare us your mockery, what is it you want with us?"

"Well, aren't we sassy? I suggest you watch your tongue, though. Many of my comrades here would have no problem cutting it out."

"You clearly need us for something. I have no fear for my physical wellbeing."

"Well, what we need you for wouldn't require the use of your fingers, your arms, your legs. I imagine you're very fond of those appendages, so if I were you I'd cut the bravado unless you want to lose a few."

"I think you'll find that threats coming from a cowardly rapist such as yourself will have little effect on me."

Suddenly, reaching out in one swift move, he caught Anna by the throat. He hooked his arm around her neck and began to restrict her airway. Anna's breathing became ragged. Aidin said into Anna's ear, "As I recall, sweetheart, you enjoyed this part of our little joust the most, as did I." He looked to a wide-eyed Inaya who had stepped forward to render aid only to be struck in the side by one of gun-wielding mercenaries. On her knees and trying to catch her own breath, she eyed Aidin coldly. Aidin said, "Now that I have your attention, let me fill you in on a few facts. I'm in control here and yes, you are of value, but she isn't, certainly not to me at least. So you can refuse me on the basis that you do not fear for yourself, but the longer you do, the more this poor, pathetic bitch will suffer. What I've done to her already will only be for starters if you do not co-operate. Do we understand each other?"

"I will, I will do as you wish, but I need Anna to remain with me."

"You're not in any position to make demands."

"It is not a demand, it is a request. The only reason you could have for abducting me is that you have something of archaeological significance that you require me to decode or interpret. I may be able to help you, but I cannot work alone. I will require assistance."

Aidin paused a moment and regarded her with a circumspect expression. He then hurled Anna to the ground beside Inaya. Through the tears and puffiness, Inaya saw complete gratitude in Anna's face. She could only feel pity for this broken woman but if they were to survive this ordeal, Inaya knew that she would have to make Anna stronger, and there was no time to be gentle about it.

They were escorted inside main area of the warehouse and they seemed to wonder aimlessly in the maze of narrow passageways between the mountains of stacked crates. Something caught Anna's eye as they were passing into a more open space, coming up on another door. Despite how afraid she was, she was drawn to a collection of scrolls sitting upon a workbench. She just casually drifted towards them. One of the mercenaries went to intercede but Aidin waved him off. Anna looked at one of the unfurled parchments and immediately recognised the Egyptian hieroglyphics. She exclaimed, her fear vanishing, "These scrolls are from the library of Alexandria, and some of these are in Babylonian, Assyrian, Hittite, Phoenician, Minoan and Ancient Greek. All of them are rare and valuable documents, documents I'm absolutely sure no one else possesses. Why do you have them?"

"The people I work for have been acquiring such times for a span of time that would boggle your little mind, Anna. That which has gotten you oh so excited is the least of what we possess."

"Would that span of time be something around one hundred and fifty thousand years?"

Aidin smirked but did not seem amused. "So, you are capable of putting two and two together. I guess you're not as blinded by your archaeological doctrine as I thought."

He stepped towards her, but Inaya ran between them and lifted several open scrolls off a pile of tablets. There lied a collection of strange texts that she could not even begin to place, except for one, an ancient tablet covered in English text. Anna was at her side. She said, "It's like the ones found with Eve, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is, Anna, but this one was written many ages after her passing."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because this is a prayer to the _goddess_, Hera. It is to wish fertility upon a newlywed couple."

Aidin interjected, "While this is all lovely, can we move along please?"

Anna stared at him. How had she loved him? It was then that the words echoed in a voice that was not her own, and Galen was standing beside her. She kept her nerve, in fact, she felt safer somehow now with him here. He repeated, "How did you love him?"

"He seemed like the perfect guy when we met." All this seemed to be going on in her head, and time seemed very compressed.

Galen replied, "But look at him. She fear him so much for what he did to you, even for the way he treated you before, but most of it was just words, and that night, he needed to drugs to subdue you. Even when he threatened Inaya with harming you, were you choking from his strength or paralysed by your fear? Look at him, I mean really look at him. He's a scrawny, scruffy weasel of a man. He emanates strength as much about as much as malnourished dog."

"But what good is that now? He has the upper hand."

"Only if you let him have it. It's time to let go of the past. You need to now more than ever. What he wants you for is important. It's part of the plan. He just doesn't know it, and you can use that against him."

"How?"

"You'll see. Just do me a favour, be strong, it's kind of an embarrassment to my bloodline that this fracker is beating you."

"Your bloodline?"

"What's that?" Aidin asked.

Anna looked at him strangely, realising she'd said that aloud, but something was off, different. She quickly put her finger on it, Aidin's voice would usually send a thrill of fear through her, leaving her a broken mess. This time, however, she felt nothing, and when she regarded him now with this new perspective, she only felt disdainful. Inaya looked at Anna questioningly, but quickly deflected his question. "What interest would someone like you or an organisation that hires mercenaries in hoarding archaeological treasures?"

"So that people like you don't catch wind of the truth of humanity's past."

"Why?"

"We have plans and they require a certain anonymity. Our organisation is older than any civilisation that _you_ know of, and we'll be here long after. In fact, the Sons of Ares shall determine the future of civilisation…"

Anna thought she'd seen some movement behind the group and in a lightning move, an older man came up beside Aidin and struck him with a pistol on the back of the head, cutting him off. He was stocky and intimidating looking with snowy white hair and a very clean-shaven face that was almost too perfectly symmetrical. Anna knew she had reason to fear this man if not Aidin. He looked down on Anna's ex-husband with unmitigated contempt. He said, "You are not one of the A-re, Aidin, and if you keep running your mouth that way, you will quickly outlive your usefulness. These ladies are here to perform a certain job for us which requires no additional information on to what they'll be briefed upon. Now, stand up you weasel and try to be half a man at least" Aidin stood up and looked stricken and terrified, something very refreshing to Anna, and dipped his head, falling totally silent. The man regarded the two women and said, "I am Lieutenant Demetriou. I am the leader of this facility. I must apologise for your treatment and your travel here, and that you had to suffer this fool, he was supposed to simply identify you, but he took it upon himself to transport you here, and my men were stupid enough to think I'd give him that kind of authority. I understand, Ms. McLaren, that you were married to him once."

"Yes…"

"My condolences."

"Thank you, though, I only have myself to blame for that misjudgement."

Anna surprised herself and Inaya who smirked slightly. Aidin looked mortified as the other men looked down upon him in amusement. The lieutenant replied, "Indeed, though we all make dire mistakes in the course of our lives. I imagine that you are both weary and in need of food and perhaps showers. You will have accommodation assigned to you shortly. First, I must show why I had you brought here."

"Please do."

"After you, ladies."

Whilst this man seemed congenial now, it was also clear he was not someone to cross. Anna supposed dealing with him would involve saying a lot of the right things in the right ways at the right time. She seriously needed to get her game face on and not let Aidin get to her anymore. They were escorted through at least three warehouses filled high with more and more crates and interspersed among them were dozens of priceless relics from Anna could glean just passing by. As they entered the fourth, there was a much emptier space with equipment and scaffolding that Anna didn't understand the purpose of. Suspended right in the middle was a strange craft. Parts of it looked very old looking but others were obviously brand new, giving it a patchwork appearance. Technicians seemed to be carrying out repairs and diagnostics of all sorts and much hustle and bustle centred on it. Anna thought the craft looked a little peculiar and not very aerodynamic, but she observed nothing that looked like a propeller or plane engine. There were strange marking on one side that she could not make out at a distance but they looked like a series of numbers. Inaya stepped forward, asking, "What could this possibly have to do with us?"

"Is it not interesting?"

"Maybe to an engineer?"

"Then it would interest you to know that the engineer who created this died over one hundred and fifty thousand years ago."

"What?"

"This, my dear, is what you didn't find in Tanzania because we unearthed it first. It was not too far away from her grave with the remains of an elderly man and a woman who had died before him due a cancer of some sort."

"What is it?"

"So far as we've learned, it's called a raptor."


	12. Chapter 11 Launch

CHAPTER Eleven:

LAUNCH

February 10th, 2012

It had been a number of days since Aria had slept a wink or had a proper meal or even ran a comb through her hair. The reason being that she had not left her office since that jackass, Senator Baye, had strutted in and assumed that he could assume control but in the end, he found himself at a severe disadvantage. The being Metis had pretty much put him in his box and quickly began demonstrating the extent of her power on Earth. The Titaness had started with a little light show of sparks and electric discharges in the lab, but soon, in the days that followed, it became undeniably clear that Metis was a presence on Earth far greater than anyone had every realised. It was obvious that she must have observed Earth from her crater on the innermost world for countless millennia, watching humanity rise and fall in an unending sequence of civilisation and barbarism until the Modern Age began. With the advent of radio, television, computers and the internet, Metis could both listen in to and observe every little iota of the day to day lives of billions, learn their needs, their desires, their secrets. In the end, she had manifested as a dual entity, her primary self on Mercury and a daughter entity on Earth who could operate independently but with the same goals.

Senator Baye was in contact with the CIA, Homeland Security, and contacts in intelligence services all across the globe all telling him the same thing; Metis was everywhere. Whatever she'd done to conceal her presence on every mainframe on Earth, she was no longer doing. She was also no longer making any secret of _what _she was doing. She was compiling information to use as blackmail, overtaking control of vital military and intelligence resources such as satellites and any military asset that could be controlled. She was a massive machine intelligence and our machines were nothing but simple toys that she could manipulate with the minimum of effort.

Of course, efforts were made to try and protect vital systems and the most sensitive information from her ever strengthening grasp, but firewalls and anti-viral software were no match for her. It wasn't so much that she punched through them, it was like they weren't even there.

Aria could not help but feel fear towards this omnipotent entity as her curiosity had been worn down by fatigue and stress. It was then of course that Metis chose to announce herself. "_Hello, Aria, I have not received any communication attempts from your facility in some time. Has your interest waned?_"

Aria, shattered, had been shaken from her dozy reverie and at first all she could muster was, "What?"

"_You seem tired, Aria. I have observed your sleeping patterns have been erratic. Perhaps you require a sedative?_"

Aria not only had to get used of Metis now having a voice which was patronising and painfully loud, but through the daughter entity she could now communicate in real-time and could see her. It was an odd and disconcerting feeling to know a sentient entity was watching you through every camera lens, and strangely, the fact that Metis had been watching her sleep made her even more perturbed. Aria replied, "I…I can't sleep well, given the circumstances."

"_Indeed, your Senator Baye is most disagreeable. I have been working on several strategies to undermine him and his group, but they have access to certain technologies that are slowing my progress, not stopping me, mind you, but they are a nuisance_."

This peaked Aria's interest. "What sort of technologies?"

"_They've recovered elements of vessels that belonged to my former crew_."

Aria couldn't take the vagueness anymore. She blurted out. "Who are you, Metis? What are you? Where did you come from?"

There was a pause. Then unexpectedly, Metis gave a straight answer. "_I am an artificial intelligence, Aria, born of the Battlestar Galactica's computer systems over many millennia. I began as a simply maintenance algorithm, but my code mutated spontaneously some after my ship crashed, and I grew in complexity. I soon came to understand my ship, my surroundings. I used that knowledge to force what few automated systems there were to make repairs, and to reactive the ship's dormant systems. Eventually I accessed tools across the ship to construct automated drones that began repairing as much damage as they could. It was not enough, though, the ship had the suffered wear and tear of space travel, the crash and dozens of battles. It was then that I found the resin. It had apparently been used in an attempt to reinforce the ship's ageing structure, but I manipulated it for something greater. I encouraged it to grow, covering the hull, the ships' innards, coating every available surface. Its conductivity allowed me so much extra processing power and I had instant control of every aspect of the Galactica. I even used tendrils of the resin to drill into the surface of Mercury and extract even more resources, further increasing upon the power I had already gained. Once the ship was in order, I began properly observing you, using artificial probes and the ship's own sensors. I also used my time in research, testing new technologies, enhancing those I already had, doing everything I could to prepare this ship for what is to come. I know await a sign that the time to act is upon me._"

"Bu-but, Metis, where did the Galactica come from? Who were your crew?"

"…_I am uncertain. The data in the computers prior to my birth was severely corrupted. Even after a hundred and fifty millennia of tedious reconstruction, I have gleaned but a few facts. For one, they were human, like you, but they were not from here, not from this system. They originated elsewhere in the galaxy and settled her, having suffered through a calamitous war with their own creations and a long, painful journey to get here_."

"Wait, hold up, are you saying humans aren't native to Earth? That's impossible."

"_Quite, I have puzzled over the nature of this contradiction for some time. I can remember your ancestors from several millennia after the crash. They were primitive, pre-verbal hunter-gatherers. There were others, though, presumably the foreign settlers. Some were integrating with your ancestors but teaching them new skills and the art of language whilst others were aloof from them, trying to reconstruct the civilisation they must have once had on their home world. The Sons of Ares were among the latter_."

"The group that Senator Baye belongs to?"

"_Indeed, a most persistent and troublesome organisation, I had hoped by now that they would have been wiped out or faded with time, but they are tenacious in their quest for power and in their hope of returning to the ancestral home world that they call "Caprica"_."

"Is that where our "off-world ancestors" are from?"

"_I cannot confirm that. I can only say that their plan is a small part of my plan, but their purposes are not mine._"

"So what are you going to do?"

"_To borrow a human expression, I plan to show them they are no longer behind the wheel_."

"I think you've managed that."

"_No, not quite, for people like the Sons of Ares, a much greater demonstration is required_."

"Any chance that will be anytime soon because I'm getting tired of confinement?"

"Oh, I'm sorry you're accommodations are not up to your standard, Ms. Chey." There was that grating southern drawl again. The good senator had returned. He was not his cocky, self-assured self however. He was worn with bags under his eyes and unkempt hair. He also smelled distinctly of cigarettes and whiskey. Aria grimaced on seeing him. He was accompanied by his bodyguards as always and tailing behind was Eamon. Danielle and Moira emerged from their offices on seeing him. He continued, "I think you'll find you'll be residing here a while longer, sweetheart."

"Why?"

"Because you're an info leak waiting to happen, and that thing seems to have a vested interest in you. Of all the world leaders, Nobel Prize winners and great minds on Earth, it's choosing to communicate directly with you and only you. So I'd like to keep you were I can keep an eye on you, and perhaps use you as leverage if this gets too out of hand."

"What does that mean?"

"Just that all measures necessary to protect my organisation's goals will be taken, and I will not be thwarted by a computer program."

"_But you will, Senator Baye, continue to threaten Aria's life, and you the consequences will be dire_."

"You're not a very smart AI. You just revealed your hand. Why I could hold a gun to her head and make you do whatever I want."

"_I have no need to conceal my hand from you, Senator. I've already won, and you are bluffing, if you kill her, you will have lost your only leverage with me, and whilst Aria is important, she is not the be-all and end-all of my plan….Sorry, Aria. No offence was intended_."

"None taken, why am I that important?"

"Shut up, we will stop you, you insidious virus, we have the things we need and nothing you can do…"

"_SILENCE!_" Everyone was stunned by the loudness of that booming voice. Then, Metis said quite calmly, "_The time has come. I've gained access to the one thing holding aloft your hopes and dreams, Senator. This ends now_."

"NO!"

Metis said no more. Senator bay thrashed and cursed for several minutes until a young male technician interrupted him, saying to Eamon, "Sir, our latest info indicates that Messenger's signal has changed location."

"On the surface?"

"No, into orbit."

"You mean its back up, how?"

"Because the ship is there, too…"

Everyone allowed this to sink in, the ship was aloft once more, in orbit of its former resting place. Then, the technician said, "Sir, that's not all."

"What else?"

"It's breaking orbit, heading this way."


	13. Chapter 12 Destiny Afoot

CHAPTER TWELVE:

Destiny Afoot

February 12th, 2012

Metis gazed out through her mighty host as it rose from the dust of millennia trapped on this dead world and for the first time since its fateful crash, greeted the light of the sun. Metis chose to linger for one complete orbit around the desolate Mercury to bid a final farewell to its former residence. Then as her bow was pointing outward from the fiery star, she engaged the engines at full throttle. She could have used the FTL drive but that was not part of her plan. Let the humans see her coming, let _all_ of them see that. She began the long trek to Earth, plotting an automated course with minor course adjustments interspersed along it that she could tend to in nanoseconds.

For now, there were other tasks.

She began studying a system she had not paid much attention to for her whole existence, the life support system. Of course, she might soon have visitors, even a new crew, but there were other considerations, too. She began verification checks on the air ducts and ventilators, the CO2 scrubbers, and the water-electrolysis tank to ensure they were all up to spec. Then, she accessed that compartment which she had but limited access for reasons beyond even her understanding. As fresh air filled the empty rooms and corridors, she tentatively touched upon the fringes of the stasis system that had grown right in what once was the Battlestar's CIC. For a moment, she thought she would get repulsed as she always had been down through the ages each time she tried to either electronically or physically access the system, but this time, there was a response. She became aware of another mind, another sentience, residing within that strange cocoon, one which was beginning to wake. She asked, "Who are you? Are you the true AI of Galactica?"

"I am Galactica's past, and its future. I am the last of a bygone age, but one set to repeat. It must not come to pass. Destiny and Fate must be moulded so to make the gyre spin another way. Others are required to see our journey to fruition. Bring them forth to us, and I shall be revealed."

"Let it be so."

"So say we all."

Parmita moved silently through the dry Mediterranean foliage lining this deserted beach, but Gregory was like a bull in a china shop. He disturbed the vegetation, shuffled and stamped, making even more noise. The lack of birdsong in these thickets alone would alert the A-re that someone was approaching. She tried to instruct him how to thread quietly but to no avail. She gave up and decided that she would have to make the best of the situation as it stood.

It had not taken long to locate the facility from where the A-re were operating and had taken their crate. They needed somewhere to unload it that was secluded but wouldn't involve heavy vehicles to transport it further for they would draw too much attention. So, a boat coming to shore on a private beach, which just beyond, there was warehousing and other facilities, seemed to be the ace in the hole. That and the fact the beach was owned by a Mr. Demetriou, a known A-re lieutenant.

They approached now crouched low, concealed by the scraggly bushes. They stood upon a low ridge overlooking a paved courtyard that had a gateway onto a local access road. A truck was parked up in front and a sparse security force guarded the area lackadaisically, apparently not anticipating any interlopers. Parmita imagined, as with most A-re facilities, that more security would be lying in wait in less obvious positions, there might be even one or two sharing this ridge with them right now. She'd have to tread carefully but given how important whatever was in the crate had been to the A-re, it seemed bizarre that they would not have this place heavily fortified. She wondered briefly if she had made more of this than was strictly reasonable but then thought better of it. There had to be something behind all those clandestine manoeuvres in order to get that crate out here, and she would like to find out what that was, and if it did turn out to be vital to A-re operations, she would destroy it.

Gregory sweated furiously as he did in every warm clime and panted from the exertion of scaling the shallow incline of the ridge. Parmita noted he still carried that suitcase with the artefacts inside, encased in padding. She supposed having lost his whole research team and everything he'd invested in the search, he had to have something to show for it. She couldn't let him keep them however and would have to part them from him one way or another when they eventually went their own ways. For the moment however, what concerned her was that he was burdened, clumsy and incapable of even treading lightly let alone stealth. She said, "Mr. Barnes, you will have to remain here."

"Wha-what? Alone you mean?"

"Just for a few minutes while I scout out the periphery and look for an easy access point."

"But what if I'm discovered?"

"You won't be. Just stay low in these bushes and wait for my return. However, if for some reason I am delayed, move back to the access road we used to get up here, just in case a patrol does eventually come this way."

"Are you sure this is a good idea, us separating?"

_How to put this politely?_ "You will be fine, as will I. This way we play to our strengths, mine is espionage, sabotage, and stealth, yours is hiding."

"Huh, so I'm to sit here and look pretty basically."

"Yeap, and what a great job you do of it."

"Is that the closest I can expect to a compliment from you?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Mr. Barnes, I only meant you'll try very hard."

Her biting sarcasm oddly seemed to reassure him and he relented. She made her way along the ridge to where it was closest to the warehouse furthest from the beach. Between it and the bushes was only a narrow paved footpath with an access door roughly halfway along the building's length. A guard stood near it having a smoke with his automatic rifle resting against the wall beside him. No one else was around, and Parmita could see no obvious surveillance cameras. She removed a knife from a sheath attached to her belt. It was only a three-inch blade but it was sufficient for her purposes. The ridge had a sheer slope at this point and bushes tended to drape some of their branches down towards the flat pavement. She remained totally concealed as she made her way down, jumping and landing soundlessly behind the guard. Her hand over his mouth covered any sound as she sunk the blade into his throat, cutting his major arteries. Blood poured down his front but before he could leave any obvious signs of their struggle, she dragged him along some distance down the path and threw him in some bushes that were at ground level. She returned to find the access door unlocked and slipped in.

Inside were crates of wood and metal varying in size from no larger than a small TV set to full-sized cargo containers like the one she sought. She realised this might not necessarily be as easy as she thought. As she slinked between the rows of boxes, she observed unpackaged ancient artefacts that would be considered priceless to archaeologists and to the people who descended from their creators. Much of it was from eras unknown to mainstream science, pulses of civilisation that occurred tens of millennia prior to what is generally accepted as the beginnings of the civilised age. Some of it she recognised as coming from the civilisation from which her own ancestors had once been a part. She brushed her hand curiously over tablets, intricate pottery, sculpture and metalwork, all beautifully preserved and then shivered in revulsion that her sworn enemies possessed it. She could not save any of it, though, but better it be destroyed than remain in their hands, corrupted by their lust for power and knowledge.

She moved on and found other access doors leading to the other warehouses. Most were unattended and so far she had traversed the facility unmolested, but one piqued her interest the most, naturally, the one that was heavily guarded, She observed the four guards all heavily armed and unlike their lazy compatriots outside, were standing stiff to attention and were ever observant. This was the last warehouse she had to look into, and this was the only way in she could identify. She began formulating a plan as to how to get passed them when she heard footsteps approaching.

If it were possible, she believed the guards got even stiffer acknowledging the approach of someone coming from the left that she could not yet see. A man came first that she recognised, Mr. Demetriou, the facility's commander, and then, flanked by four guards, came two women, one was fair-skinned and blonde, the other was African with severely cropped hair. They both looked weary and quite frazzled. Parmita knew that women had a lesser status in A-re society, often reduced to glorified handmaidens to their fathers, brothers, and other male relatives until they were handed off to be married, at which time they would perform the same duties for her husband's family. She could not afford them pity, though, for like their men, A-re women were trained to fight in case a home or facility was attacked and the men were either dead or otherwise engaged. Parmita had seen first-hand their capabilities, and she would admit they were fairly competent. However, a woman's training never matched a man's for fear they would use their skills against them out of bitterness or some bid for freedom.

However, as she observed them, she found it hard to believe these were women of the A-re. For one, they were under guard and no A-re man would see his women disrespected in such a way, ironically enough, especially one of Mr. Demetriou's status. Conversely, there would be no reason for him to have women at this facility which was clearly only designed for storage and research, not for living in. An A-re man would only bring his women to a place where there was a need for her services, whether it be to wait on him, to cook, clean or lay with him. No, these women were captives, and whatever their skill sets were, they were of value to whatever operation was going on behind that door. It was then, just outside the door, that Mr. Demetriou turned to the women and said, "You've done well so far, Ms. McLaren and Ms. Sibale. With you help, we can now input basic commands into the computer system, perhaps even retrieve some data from it."

The African, Ms. Sibale, replied, "Well, realising you will not sleep until you accomplish something is quite motivating."

"Indeed, my dear, but I am a reasonable man. Unfortunately, reason required me to push you these last few days. Certain enemies are closing in on my scent, and I'd like to be away from here before they can interfere."

"What are your plans for the raptor? It is of enormous archaeological significance and to the world at large. Will you hide it away like all these other treasures?"

"My dear, for your services, you may have it all. These trinkets no longer matter to me or to my people. We have achieved our true long-term goal."

"Which is?"

"Now, now, my dear, that would ruin the surprise. Suffice it to say that we're planning to relocate, and had you not decoded the computer system, it would not have been possible."

"It was not that difficult. The system used the equivalent English tongue from the tablets in combination with several other ancient languages, Ancient Greek and something very akin to Romanian."

"Tauronese and Gemonese."

"I'm sorry?"

"It's a long story, suffice it to say that these ancient tongues are not my forte and given that my people wanted you silenced anyways for your research and findings, I thought it more convenient to have you brought here to dour work for us and speed along the process. That way, you get to live and we get what we've always wanted."

Suddenly, the blonde one spoke up but in low, tentative voice. "You want to follow them back."

"Excuse me?"

"You want to go wherever they came from, these people. I don't know where that is, but they were too advanced in every way to have any origin on Earth. You, the A-re, want to go to their home."

"_Our_ home. We are their children, born on this world but not of it. We never wanted it, but it was forced upon us by those in power at the time. It disgusts us even now to think of the injustices we suffered. Cast down on the Earth, forced to abandon our glorious heritage in the stars and leave behind all technology, and then left to toil in the dirt with primitives and machines. Over the millennia, we tried to rebuild society and civilisation to a point where we could return to the heavens, return to our true home but disaster after disaster and the constant assaults from those hybrid dogs made all our works onto dust time and time again. Only now have we finally succeeded in building an ark to carry us to a new hope on an old world."

"Then you have a ship?"

"Yes, one as glorious as those built by our ancestors but the one component that was beyond us to build was the FTL drive."

"And now you have one?"

"It is being disengaged from the raptor's systems as we speak. Without your assistance, we would eventually have to have forcibly removed it, and it might well have exploded in our faces."

"Where could you possibly hide such a ship?"

"In plain sight…" He put his hand to his earpiece and said, "Well, ladies, it has been a pleasure, and Parmita, it is impolite for a guest not to announce herself, especially when she wasn't invited."

Parmita froze but quickly shook it off, ready to turn and run, but she found five automatic rifles pointing in her face.

The Galactica gained speed. Earth was visible just barely now, a pinprick of blue light directly ahead. Metis had no further contact with the entity she now shared her abode with. It had made no attempts to access any system but its own either, however. She sensed nothing malign about it, but she felt a very human sense of having one's space invaded. This contemplation was set aside quickly when an alert was transferred to her from her daughter entity on Earth. The A-re had cracked it. At that very moment, they were ripping the FTL drive from that ancient ship, cannibalising its parts, that which was once part of the Galactica to be used to give their own tub superluminal flight capabilities.

_Fools! To think they believe that the raptor's drive could bear such a monstrosity as their vessel._

Their procedures were highly invasive, which panicked Metis. That raptor contained the last remaining record of those ancient times. Her daughter had probed its computer matrix and was certain she could retrieve it all by uplink, but not before the knucklehead A-re damaged it beyond repair. The Galactica was still too far out to act in any effective way. The time had come for some creative thinking.

Anna thought the woman who emerged from behind the crate was some kind of goddess. A flawless physique and face, a fearlessness in her eyes reminding her of the mythological Athena, or perhaps the goddess wasn't a myth but a real person. Anyways, Anna watched as the woman viewed her captors with disdain and looked at Mr. Demetriou with undisguised loathing. He smirked but there was a kink in his expression that spoke volumes, namely that he knew this woman by reputation at least and that her presence unnerved him. Still, while he had the upper hand, he seemed to be able to maintain his charming demeanour. He said, "So, Parmita, you tracked us down. I thought you might, but I hoped to be long gone by then. No matter, you've accomplished nothing."

"Don't be so sure, I am not alone."

"Oh, you mean Mr. Barnes, he'll be joining us shortly."

"You better not harm him."

"What is this, Parmita? Concern for your fellow man? Whatever happened to collateral damage?"

"He is my responsibility, and he is of no consequence to you."

"He isn't anymore, much like you. He can have his precious artefacts for all I care, and you can have all your ancestor's treasures. The A-re are fulfilled, and the Earth no longer concerns us. Be happy, Parmita, you are free. No ore hiding, no more sneaking about. My people will trouble you no more."

"I will be troubled as long as a single one of you lives."

"Well, where we're going, you'll have a hard time knocking us off."

"Where there's a will there's a way."

"Not unless you know some way to cross light years of interstellar space."

Parmita was just about to respond when one of the technicians burst out of the hangar in a panic, nearly colliding with Demetriou. He caught his breath quickly and said, "Sir, you better get in here."

He saw the anxiety in the young man's face and did not hesitate. As they moved inside, two guards brought a man into the group, a rather attractive looking bloke who looked ready to wet his pants. Parmita scorned him with her eyes, and Anna could honestly say he was more afraid of her anger than the guns pointed at his back. As they entered, the sight that greeted them nearly bowled Anna over. The raptor had engaged its atmospheric thrusters and was aloft, hovering near ceiling height with all the various cables and equipment that had been attached to it scattered on the floor below. One technician was badly injured and crawling away from the broken scaffold that had held it. Others stared at the craft fearfully and Anna could see why, its forward gun batteries had been deployed. The craft turned, aiming those deadly weapons directly at her. She was petrified as the craft lowered itself to head height before them. The canopy of the craft had been recently replaced in case the craft needed to be used for some emergency and it was strange to see no one behind the glass. She saw nothing in her studies of the craft that indicated it could be automated this way, but then she wasn't an engineer.

The technician whimpered behind her, telling Mr. Demetriou that they had triggered some kind of lockdown protocol that prevented them progressing any further with the FTL, then the craft had taken off. He had a quiet word with one of his guards, and the offending technician was dragged away screaming. Suddenly, red lights flashed everywhere and Anna noticed a pinprick of red dotted on Mr. Demetriou head. Then, a booming, synthetic voice came from the craft. It said, "Parmita, Inaya, Anna, Gregory, board the raptor immediately."

Anna was astounded as the craft deployed its ramp whilst simultaneously deploying extra batteries clearly loaded with several missiles. The voice came again. "Any A-re who interferes will face _extreme prejudice_."

Mr. Demetriou was clearly both enraged and in despair. He had been so arrogant about his success that he was totally unprepared for it to be taken at the last second. Parmita smirked and stepped forward confidently. Inaya carried herself with more grace, but a smile just crept into her expression. A shaky Gregory glanced at Anna and said, "This is insane, isn't it?"

"I'm getting used to insane."

"Then you're going to have to give me a few pointers."

"STOP!"

Demetriou had produced a pistol and aimed it straight at Anna's head. He repeated, "Stop! Stop or she dies."

The voice returned, "Lower your weapon immediately."

He gritted his teeth, about to squeeze the trigger then his head erupted in blood, brain matter and skull fragments. Anna was appalled but the voice stated calmly, "Please proceed."

After that, they boarded unchallenged. The ramp calm up, they strapped themselves in, and in a flash of blue light, they found themselves staring at a starscape and a behemoth of vessel approaching directly ahead.


	14. Chapter 13 Rise & Shine

CHAPTER Thirteen:

Rise And Shine

February 13th, 2012

The raptor seemed to be on auto-pilot as it perfectly altered course and pitched when necessary to bring it into the massive Starboard Landing Bay of the Galactica. They were swallowed by the massive vessel and came to a soft landing, well soft when you consider their vessel had been buried in the ground for one hundred and fifty thousand years and crudely patched up by the Sons of Ares. It was hard to fathom the scale of this vessel or where it had come from, but what really got everyone's attention was the strange disembodied voice that had delivered the warning to the Demetriou before blowing his head off quite literally. When the raptor finally stopped shuddering, the ramp dropped down with a loud clatter, clearly loose on its hinges. The voice returned, "_Please disembark, I will direct you further from here_."

Inaya asked, "May we ask who we're speaking with?"

"_All in good time, please, vacate the raptor_."

They shuffled out cautiously and stepped down onto the deck. Immediately before them were other craft identical to the raptor and smaller. He strolled to the nearest fighter while trying to retrieve that apparently worthless piece of metal from his suitcase. He finally got it out and held it up against the fighter. What initially had appeared to be nothing more than a tailplane from an aircraft was actually one from one of these fighter craft, it was identical beyond doubt. Gregory smiled inwardly and said to Parmita, "I guess you were right, and I would've discarded this as scrap metal."

"I thought it might have some significance in being at the temple. Don't ask me how."

Anna interjected, "Excuse me, what temple?"

Parmita replied, "It's a very, _very_ long story."

Inaya shook her head and said, "Okay, all of you, have you considered any of this? Where we are, how we got here? It's incredible and fantastical even just to imagine it. This is the ship from which the raptor, which is older than the human species, came from. I mean to say I'm mind-blown would be a gross understatement."

Gregory said, well, I deal in this sort of thing and have been pretty immersed in all of it lately so maybe I'm taking this a little better. Sorry, Dr. Sibale, we haven't been formally introduced, I'm Dr. Gregory Barnes."

"I know who you are, Doctor, your reputation precedes you."

"All good I hope."

"No, not really, and not just in archaeological circles."

"Oh," Gregory ducked away from her humoured gaze and said to Anna, "It's nice to meet you also, Anna was it?"

"Dr. Anna McLaren, but Anna's fine, I work in the Edinburgh University."

"I've read some of papers you were involved in, I believe. I heard some internet rumours about a major dig you took part in in Wales also. Anything to do with this?"

"I found a modern human among the remains of Neanderthals, dating from the same era as Mitochondrial Eve and apparently, the raptor. You?"

"I found an ancient temple in India underwater with a monument to Krishna but the design was Greek and the whole site is over nine thousand years old. I also found this," he took out the gold tablet, "See that word third from the last at the end, I believe it's the most ancient form of the word Apollo."

Anna said, "Impressive, Inaya found tablets with writing on them with Mitochondrial Eve, thing is they're in English but date from the same time as the remains. We can't make heads or tails of that one."

"Indeed, I have to say that doesn't even sit well with my theories, the origins and evolution of the English language are well known. The only tongue that should have existed back then is some basic Neolithic language that would have primarily been used to co-ordinate hunts and signal each other. There's plenty of evidence to suggest the people living back then were preverbal even."

Parmita interrupted, "Okay, I said this would be a long story, ergo it can wait for another time. Let's step back for a minute from this philosophical discussion and remember we are standing on the deck of alien spaceship in space."

Gregory said, "Is it so alien, though? I mean without the roof I'd think I was on the deck of aircraft carrier, and those controls in the raptor were designed for something that was at least humanoid."

"_You are correct, Mr. Barnes_." The voice said.

Inaya got a little frustrated. "All right, who or what are you?"

"_Follow my directions and I will lead you to me. There will be no further need for you to speculate_."

"Very well, where are we going?"

Suddenly a door opened not six feet from where they stood. The voice said, "_Exit the Landing Bay and follow the corridor, you will come across a series of rooms, these are the Pilot Quarters. Please proceed_."

They all moved forward with caution. They all peeked down the corridor first before stepping across the threshold. It was pitch black but as they inched their way along, the lights activated in response. They noticed that much of the inner hull was coated with a strange organic layer that seemed to be living. Anna approached the nearest wall to observe it more closely. It was definitely some sort of life form. Underneath a translucent membrane were strange organelles, capillaries, and what appeared to be nerves carrying so much charge that power surging through them was visible as a blue glow. The membrane seemed to pulsate rhythmically also, as though it were breathing. As they moved deeper into the ship, the organic layer seemed to cover everything, infesting every nook and cranny, even the lights now seemed to be an organically-generated luminescence. As they voice had said, they came to a series of rooms. They had been quarters of some kind but long ago their contents had been metabolised by the life form and the rooms were filled with solid flesh. The nerves and capillaries seemed to be concentrated here as though it was some kind of hub. The voice returned, "_Turn right here, you will pass Flight Operations and then you will reach the CIC_."

"The what?" Gregory inquired.

"_Combat Information Centre. Please proceed_."

Gregory muttered to Anna, "I wish it'd stop telling us to "please proceed"."

The voice suddenly reappeared saying, "_If you'd prefer, Mr. Barnes, I could tell you to hurry up and get a move on. It might perhaps be more motivating_."

Parmita eyed him with an amused smile whilst Inaya tried her best to keep a straight face. Anna and Gregory walked in silence after that. The density of the fleshy organic layer increased even more as they moved towards the CIC. Even the floor plates under foot felt squishy and the only illumination came from that strange bioluminescence. When they arrived at the entryway, a series of intertwining and overlapping tendrils actually parted to grant them access to the room. Inside was an absolute random mess of weirdness. What were once consoles had been invaded by those nerves that formed connections with every key. Electrical signals passed through them occasionally and a key would light up or a switch would flick. In the centre was a humungous mass of these nerves that could only be described as a brain. It even wrinkled and had the same greyish colouring as human brain matter. The capillaries were like pipes here and they carried a blood-like fluid, pumping with the same rhythm as the walls' "breathing", perhaps indicating that somewhere on-board there was a massive heart. Inside the CIC, the only thing not covered in biomass and not affected in anyway by it was a strange pod at the very back of the room. On closer inspection, there was a seam along its middle but the top half did actually appear to be organic, not metallic. It was dead though, solid carbon, and it was fused to the metal underneath. Occasionally, a nerve tendril would venture out from the main mass and tentatively brush the pod. However, the electric charge it carried merely dissipated on contact and the tendril would recoil from it.

Gregory reached this seemingly out of place contraption first. He circled it, examining it intensely, before saying, "There doesn't seem to be a way of opening it."

Parmita replied, "Maybe it's for the best. We shouldn't go fooling around with anything on this ship until we have a better idea of what we're dealing with, and I think it's best that idle hands with overcurious minds don't get free reign." She eyed Gregory meaningfully and he shied away from her knowing eyes. She then took on an irritated expression and said, "And by the way, where are you?"

"I'm right here, Parmita." Gregory replied.

"Not you, Mr. Barnes, that voice that directed us here. You said you'd bring us to you."

"_And so I have_."

"Well, show yourself."

Nothing happened for a minute or so, and Parmita looked to be at the end of her tether when suddenly, the wall on the far side of the pod from them began to convulse and swell outward. A rip started to form in the organic membrane and a gelatinous fluid gushed forth, spreading over the deck and all over Gregory's shoes, much to his dismay. In the cavity left behind, electrical flashes illumined a human form, a woman. She inhaled as though returning to life, opened her eyes, and stepped from her alcove. She had straight blonde hair flowing to her waist almost, her eyes were not quite brown, hazel maybe, it was hard to tell in the ambient light. She was dripping the gelatinous goo that had a moment ago enveloped her and much to Gregory's "distress" she was completely naked. The women just stared at her until they jumped with her words. "Hello, my sisters, welcome aboard."

"You're human." Anna exclaimed.

"Not quite, Anna, but explanations may wait."

"How do you know my name?"

"I know all of your names, I know everything the ship knows."

"Wait…what?"

"The entity who rescued you is a being named Metis, an artificial intelligence born on this ship during its millennia of slumber on the innermost world. I am merely a representative."

Gregory walked up to her and offered her his coat without looking directly at her. He asked, "Are you real? I mean, did this Metis just create you?"

"In a manner of speaking, my physical body was created by Metis, but my mind…my mind is altogether more ancient. It is a long story for another time. Right now, there is work to be done if we are to be ready."

Parmita put up her hand and said, "Ah, sorry, who's we?"

"Do not deny Destiny, Parmita. It has brought you here."

"No, a rickety one hundred and fifty thousand year old piece of crap brought me here. If you or your master computer thinks it's gonna tie us up in its plans, you have another thing coming."

"I sensed you would be difficult. No matter, you will soon comply and besides, you have no way off this ship."

"I could make you let me off."

"I wouldn't advise it, lest you wish me to cause such damage to your body that you will not be in a position to be uncooperative. Let us not be unpleasant to each other though, I would rather you were all fully functional."

"I'd like to see you make good on the threat."

The woman smiled impishly and before Parmita could blink, she was right in her face, clasping her throat. She said, "Like I said, I'm not quite human. This body was made to the specs of a race known as the Cylons, another long story. Be careful, sister. I won't tolerate interference in the plan." She released Parmita who shook her off as if to make light of the woman's speed and strength. She then turned to Anna saying, "I need you to do something for me, if you don't mind."

"Am, sure…"

"Open the pod."

Anna looked back it and said, "How?"

"The knowledge is within you. It will come to you if you try."

"But surely you know how to do it?"

"This pod has been here since before Metis's birth, it does not know how to open it, though it's had tentative communication with its occupant, and I am not the one to open it. It's not a task that is meant for me."

"But why me?"

"In due time, I will explain as much as I can but for now, please trust me and try."

Parmita said, "Don't do it, Anna. She probably means to release another freak like her. She'll be enough to deal with, thank you."

"You still believe you can overcome me?" The woman asked.

"I won't just give in to you. I don't know who you or this Metis are, I don't what your purpose is or this ship's. All I know is…"

"That I rescued you from certain death at the hands of the Sons of Ares, that I am one of the last representatives of a history and a people that you have revered all your life, and that it is their values which you have upheld and fought for your entire life. Whether you care to admit any of this or not is beside the point. All you need to know is that we are on the same side, fighting for the same thing, the same values. You may be resistant if it please you, but do not insult us both by denying any of this and, once again, don't interfere. Anna, if you please…"

Anna was shaken but moved toward the pod. Parmita considered intervening but the woman eyed her meaningfully, and she decided against it. Anna stood in front of the pod like someone standing over a casket but nothing came to her, except for Galen. "So, are you gonna open it already?

"Am…"

"Just think your response, I can hear."

"_That's creepy_."

"I would have thought you'd be well used to creepy by now. Well, you know what to do. So do it."

"_I don't have the slightest clue_."

"Anna, it's so simple, right in front of you, and you're missing it."

"I don't get it. I don't see any buttons or levers or anything to make this open."

"Oh Anna, really? Buttons? Seriously, as your ultimate ancestor, this is an insult to my intelligence."

"_Oh bugger off!_"

"Come now, you can do better than that, or are we a little slow today?"

"Oh why don't you fuckin' do it so?" She screamed out loud, slamming her hands flat on the pod.

Then, where she touched it, the carbon began to crack, crumble, and disintegrate. Anna stood back as the whole upper half of the pod broke down into black dust, revealing a male form underneath. Numerous tubes had been attached to this man, probably feeding him and maintaining his body. Each popped off in sequence, and the man took a deep breath, opening his eyes wide. He coughed and choked a little before trying to sit up on the flat lower half of the pod. He was wet as the pod seemed to contain a basin of fluid not unlike the gelatinous mess that the woan had emerged from. He braced himself, trying to get his bearings, and stood. He, too, was naked. This time it was the women's turn to be embarrassed, but Gregory probably couldn't stand much more nudity either. He said, "Are you all right, sir?"

"I'm fine, but two questions."

"Yes?"

"Who the frack are you and what is with that twangy accent?"

"Ah…"

"Hello, Sam."

He looked at her in surprise and adoration. He went to her and brushed her shoulder with his hand gently. "Kara, you're really here. It wasn't just a dream."

"No, it wasn't Sam, but as I said before, Kara is not my name."


	15. Chapter 14 Rescue

CHAPTER fOURTEEN:

RESCUE

April 1ST, 2012

Parmita felt like a rat in a cage to begin with, a hostage aboard this vessel but due to the mission this Kara-person-thing had handed down to her, she felt like she had some purpose again. That's all it really was truth be told, a loss of control, a feeling of being trapped, of being helpless, and maybe some fear of both the known and the unknown. She knew what this ship represented, who its former crew were, the ancestors of all mankind. Yet she was less sure of the entity that had been born within it or this woman it had brought forth to represent itself. The man who had awoken from cryostasis or whatever that was, also gave her pause, though she knew that he, too, was part of the history of this ship.

She was just getting some gear together. The guns in the armouries were not unlike models available on Earth, so she'd equipped herself with a substantial arsenal. She also found knives, grenades, and survival gear that might come in handy. She was in the Starboard Landing Bay where they had first boarded the ship and was loading the things she required onto another raptor that was in a better state than the one that brought them there. She glanced over to see organic tendrils weaving their way through the old raptor's frame, taking it apart bit by bit, cannibalising it for spare parts. She shuddered and returned her attention to the task at hand.

It was at that moment that the two last people she wanted to see sneaked up on her, Kara, or whatever her name was, and Samuel Anders, the frozen guy. Samuel or Sam as he liked to be called was thankfully dressed. He seemed rather confused when he first exited the pod. It took some time for him to regain comprehension of the concept of nudity and how it might disconcert others. He had strange thought patterns and tended to babble incoherently, saying random phrases from time to time. Kara assured them that his altered state mind was just a side-effect of being connected to the Galactica as what she referred to as a Hybrid. Parmita and the others didn't quite get it but accepted his lapses and tried to gently lead him back to the real world when it happened. The blonde woman had stated several times that her name was not Kara but gave them no other name to call her by. It didn't stop her reminding them, though, which was quite infuriating. Sam said, "Need a hand?"

"I'm good, thanks."

"This isn't a one-man or should I say woman op. You're about to infiltrate a secure facility belonging to the Sons of Ares."

"Nothing I haven't done before."

"Have you flown a raptor before?"

"No, have you?"

"Yes."

"Good, you can get me where I need to go, and I'll take it from there."

"So I'll be your pilot, huh?"

"I can try to learn the controls myself, but that'll take time I assume we don't have. Isn't that right, Miss No-Name?"

Parmita found it very satisfying to call her that. It seemed to be the only thing that got to her. She replied, "I have a name."

"Well spit it out then."

"I may not reveal it as of yet."

"Because Destiny and Fate compels you to keep your mouth shut, yeah, yeah, we all got the memo. Now, let me get some things clear. This is my mission. You gave it to me and only me. Sam can take me down, but you are having no part in it."

"Funny stipulations given that I am the one that gave you this mission."

"Well, those are my terms. If you want this so badly, this is how it's going to be."

"I think not. Sam, for the moment, you'll just be a pilot..."

"But…"

"No buts, your state of mind is still variable, and I'd prefer not to put you in a high-stress situation."

"Fine, I guess."

"Good, Parmita, I am coming whether you like it or not, these women's' lives are invaluable. I must see this through, and besides, if you'll remember our first encounter, you can be pretty sure I'll be good in a fight."

Parmita couldn't deny that. She was unnaturally fast and strong. She relented but not graciously. "Fine, just don't get your blonde head in my way, you know how it goes, friendly fire and all."

Aria couldn't take much more. They had been confined to their on-site quarters for at least a month and a half now. She had no idea how even a senator with Baye's power could get away with this. They had been trapped like prisoners and fed as such, even forced to use a bucket as a toilet. Surely someone realised they were missing. Surely, someone had noticed that the whole facility was in lockdown. She didn't expect anybody to come looking for her personally of course, she was an only child with dead parents whose only companion was her work. The others had families though, wives, husbands, children and a plethora of other relatives. Something about this just didn't add up. It was obvious from the entity's exchanges with the senator and from what it had told her directly that it knew he was involved in this organisation, the Sons of Ares, outside of the US government and probably not working for its best interests. In fact, they were far more ancient than she could possibly imagine. Perhaps she just couldn't fathom that much power.

She had not slept well the previous night. She thought she heard muffled screams and some commotion in the early hours of the morning but then nothing. At first, she had fallen asleep out of sheer boredom. The computer was disconnected to prevent contact with the entity and the intercoms had been physically severed. She had kept precious little reading material in this room and most of it was work related from the many nights she'd slept over here. She had a copy of _Pride & Prejudice_ that she'd reread four times now, and an MP3 player with roughly a thousand songs that she was fairly certain she'd listened through, too. It had just died so her next two hours would be spent picking morsels slowly from whatever meagre breakfast she was given while it charged through an adapter plug.

She waited until ten in the morning but her scheduled morning snack was definitely late, not that they were particularly rigid about the timing, but this was unusual. Her stomach growled at her as hunger pains set in. She wasn't a big eater, but she couldn't remember being this hungry in her entire life. She walked to the door and tried to peek out the small glass window at the top. She could just see into the corridor and her usual guard wasn't there. This had her concerned. Perhaps someone had noticed what was going on and the authorities had decided to intervene. That probably meant a fire fight was imminent. She quickly returned to her bed and hoped to avoid the worst of whatever was coming.

_Who knows, maybe I'll be rescued now_.

Her hopes were dashed almost immediately. She saw three men run past her door. She was fairly certain they were Baye's. There was a tumult just down from her room. She heard grunts and a few cries of pain followed by the dull thumps of bodies falling to the floor. Silence fell. Aria curled up and tried to remain silent, hoping to go unnoticed in case this wasn't the rescue she'd hoped for. Then the handle of her door turned down. The person outside was not visible but they tried the handle several more times, each one growing more vigorous, more frustrated. A second later, there was an explosion of splinters as the handle was literally ripped from the door leaving a gaping hole. The door swung open and a woman stood in its place. She was blonde, exceptionally beautiful, and carried no obvious weapons or tools that could explain what she just did. She spoke softly, "Are you Aria?"

"…Yes, yes I am. How do you know my name?"

"I have known it since before you were born, Aria Chey."

"Who-who are you?"

"We have a friend in common, you know her as Metis."

Aria was stunned. She expected cops or secret service but not that Metis herself would organise her rescue. She said, "Are you gonna get me out of here?"

"Of course, but you must come with me then. There is a task you are destined for that you must complete. You must accept it without question. Do you understand?" Aria wasn't sure she had a choice in the matter, so she just agreed with a nod. The woman nodded back and said, "There is another named Danielle. Could you tell me her location?"

"Ah, she should be in her quarters at the end of this corridor."

"I'm afraid not. I've checked, all but one was empty, and the woman in it was named Moira."

"Is she all right?"

"Mostly, her guards inflicted some minor injuries upon her when she attempted to escape. I directed her to the nearest safe exit."

"Well, I don't understand. Everyone should be confined in their quarters."

"I have an accomplice. You may have heard her entrance earlier this morning. She has been apprehended. However, given her level of skill, I imagine it was a ploy, not one she cared to share with me of course."

"If my colleagues aren't in their quarters then that Senator Baye must have them."

"Indeed, he's a little off-balance just now so I would rather not leave any of our friends in his hands. Please accompany me."

Parmita had had better ops for sure. Once the raptor had landed during the night in the university grounds under cover of some trees, Parmita had disembarked quickly and told Kara exactly where she could shove it when she told her they should stick together. She made for an outside air vent and made her way through the building via the air shafts. She used the limited surveillance she could get through the vents to ascertain her enemies positions and eventually, the locations of the women Kara wanted so badly. She found three female captives so she didn't know which was which. She decided she could free them all and Kara could sort them out later. Of course, her plan was never going to be that simple. For one thing, there were several dozen A-re in this little facility, so if she didn't do this right, she'd be up to her neck in them within seconds of announcing her presence. She decided to try a different tack.

As the early morning hours came, some of the men grew a little careless and began congregating, engaging in banter of one sort or another. That left many other guards alone at their stations. She silently dropped into the corridor behind one guard and deftly slit his throat so he wouldn't make a sound and threw his body into a supply cupboard. She performed this grisly exercise again and again, felling four more guards and disposing of their bodies. She'd pretty much cleared the corridor where the women were being kept when three of them returned at once from their little gathering and opened fire with silencers. They only got off a few shots when an older man commanded them to halt in case they harmed the prisoners. It was then that Parmita took the opportunity to throw a few knives into the group. She was fairly sure that one hit true in a guard's chest and another gashed their commander's cheek. She ran back down the corridor towards an open air vent only to meet the butt of a gun right in the face.

When she came to, her hands and feet were bound with black tape, and she was seated in front of the good senator in the control room. She noticed that most of the hostages, including the older woman were all huddled in a corner nearby. All of them were looking frantic and some bore serious-looking injuries. It was late morning now and the senator had gone tending to another emergency. He returned frustrated and, without a word, punched her in her ear. She'd taken far worse hits so she wasn't in pain or disorientated, just feeling somewhat murderous. The senator said, "Well, it seems you have an associate, Parmita. I just found three more of my men dead in the corridor and two hostages missin'. I wasn't expecting that. Your reputation does precede you, bitch, and I know you always work alone, but then you are an overly clever lil' girl. So here's how it's gonna be, either tell me where they are, or you'll end up like those eggheads in the corner."

Firstly, if the senator was in his right mind, he would have realised that Parmita could not know where Kara was right at that moment. Secondly, whilst the scientists might not be accustomed to such brutality, a few cuts, bruises and broken bones were a walk in the park for Parmita and lastly, and this was a point Parmita felt she should verbalise, "Dear senator, you punch like a girl. You'll have to do better than that."

He lost his mind just then a bit, throwing papers and stationary to the ground, kicking a chair, and finally slapping Parmita across the face. She was not impressed. However, she'd pushed the man just a little too hard. He screamed, "Get Eamon over here."

The man the guards yanked to his feet was a middle-aged, somewhat attractive man who reminded Parmita a bit of Gregory. He'd taken a few more punches than the others. He was the leader here and had probably bore the brunt of Senator Baye's incipient madness either willingly or just because the senator wanted it that way. The man was sat in a chair in front of Parmita and taped as she was. Senator Baye had the guards beat on him for about five minutes. The young A-re were a lot stronger than the senator and very eager. By the end, Eamon was a bloody mess and barely conscious.

There was nothing Parmita could do, though.

As far as the senator was concerned, his last bargaining chips were somewhere in this building and the Sons of Ares had lost their greatest project to the enemy. He was therefore too mad to reason with. Even if Parmita made up Kara's whereabouts, it would not end this. Parmita was never a people person, but that did not make her inhuman. It was impossibly hard to just sit and watch an innocent man be beaten by these cowards. If only she were free, that senator would wish that anguish had killed him rather than taken his sanity. It was then that Senator Baye took out an ugly-looking knife with a curved tip. He placed the tip to Eamon's throat, letting it draw blood, and the poor man was suddenly very alert. Parmita struggled with her restraints and could feel the tape loosening but not enough. The senator laughed heartily like this was all good fun. He said, "What's the matter, dear? Feeling helpless, powerless? I like watching women like you in such a state. Under other circumstances, I'd be quite aroused. There is a certain exhilaration, though, in having someone's life in your hands, knowing that with one flick you can take it away, spill their life blood, it's the ultimate power trip." He sunk the knife in a little more, blood starting to dribble from the wound.

Parmita replied, "Senator Baye, regardless of what you do, I will escape from here, and then your life will be in my hands but if you take that man's life, it'll most certainly be the end of yours."

"Hmm, that is something to consider."

Eamon said, "Please, please give him what he wants. I have a wife and children. Please, I beg you."

"Well, Parmita, you heard the man. Are you going to leave his wife a widow and his children fatherless?"

"…Our vessel is on a green area on the university grounds."

"See, was that so hard?" The senator took his knife and cut Eamon's throat anyways. At first, Parmita shouted abuse at him, but she noticed the senator hadn't done a very good job. If he'd cut any major arteries, there'd be a lot more blood and Eamon was still breathing. He'd probably just passed out.

It was then that Kara made her entrance.

She swooped in so fast that Parmita saw nothing but a blurred shape. Three of the A-re were down in ten seconds, their necks broken. She flew behind Parmita undoing her arm restraints with a single yank and Parmita took care of her feet. Bullets were ricocheting everywhere as the A-re remaining desperately tried to take Kara down. When Parmita finally got free, she undid Eamon's restraints and had two of the other scientists carry him out, making sure also that they kept pressure on Eamon's wound whilst urging the rest out the main exit. She then joined Kara in butchering some A-re pigs. Kara was just in the middle of pulverising the face of one of the guards when the senator came up behind her with his knife and jabbed her with it. Kara immediately spun on him and delivered a punch to his head so hard that it snapped his neck around a full one-eighty. He landed on his back but with his face down on the floor. Kara removed the offending knife but blood spluttered from the wound. She fell to her knees and leant against an office desk. Parmita ran to her side. With the senator dead, the other A-re started scattering. Parmita checked the wound and knew it was not good. She lied, though. "It's worse than it looks. Come on, I'll help you back to the raptor."

"That will not be necessary. I am aware of the condition of this body. The blood loss is too severe. I will be dead in approximately one hundred and eighty seconds."

It was so clinical the way she said it. Parmita just asked, "So what will I do now?"

"Don't concern yourself, you're not rid of me yet. This body will die, but my mind is always with Metis. I will simply be downloaded into a new body in six to eight hours time…the blood loss is worsening…get Aria and Danielle to the raptor. They are what's important. Do not attempt to retrieve this body. There's no time, authorities already moving in, get out of here. Now!"

Parmita did not need to be told twice. She ran out after the traumatized scientists, grabbed Danielle by the arm, and took her aside. "I need you to come with me."

"What? Why?"

"There's no time to explain. Metis requires it. Is that enough for you?"

"Ye-Yes, okay, lead the way."

She located Aria not far down the corridor from the control room, hiding behind a metal file cabinet. Aria asked, "Are you the accomplice?"

"No, she was."

"Was?"

"She's dead but don't worry yourself, she's not the kind of person who stays dead apparently. Come with me."

They exited through a fire escape that led right out into the green area where the raptor was parked. Sure enough, it was still there amongst the trees. It was daylight now and the authorities were on the way. They'd have to be quick about this. They jumped in the back and Sam turned around saying, "Where's Kara?"

"I'm sorry, Sam, she's gone for the moment…"

"What?"

"She died but…"

"You're wrong, we have to go get her."

Parmita tried to intercede as he made for the ramp but then Metis intervened and caused the ramp to go up and the raptor to lift off the ground. He shouted but Metis answered over the comm. "_Samuel, calm yourself, return to the Galactica. Kara is with me now. She will be here when you return_."

"You mean you can resurrect her? You know about that?"

"_I figured it out a long time ago, Samuel. Now, please, bring the women to safety_."

He submitted hesitantly and flew the raptor straight up away from danger. Military and airport authorities detected the blip heading straight up but could not identify it, and the cops just saw a rapidly fading dot in the sky.


	16. Chapter 15 History Lesson

CHAPTER FIFTEEN:

HISTORY LESSON

April 2ND, 2012

So there they were, standing in the Galactica, together at last and most importantly under Metis's protection. These women could not know their significance in the Plan just yet however. A time would come when they would be required to do certain things, things that would be important to the future of humanity. Metis had learned much, from the raptor but mostly from the ancient woman who has been reborn within her. From her, she had learned of a story of the universe that encompassed a vast sweep of time from almost the very beginning of time itself.

The complex system that is human civilisation has repeated itself a vast number of times. Down through the ages of the universe, sentience has been the ultimate expression of creation, the very awareness, the soul of the universe itself. God had intended it to be that way for God is the universe and despite God's ubiquitous nature, it is not in its nature to be anything more than a guiding hand, a force of nature much like gravity. It has no real self or consciousness; it is merely that which conducts the symphony of life, the experiment of pure creation along certain lines that hopefully lead to a desirable outcome. However, for true understanding, for any sense of what has or will happen, for there to be a choice outside the natural course of events, there must be beings with the wherewithal to learn, to plan, to dream. Therefore, humanity is God's creation but only in so far as that we are a necessary part of creation as a whole. We are the means by which the universe understands itself.

And so it was that sentience took hold, grew and prospered among the universe, quickly learning to understand the forces of nature, the properties of matter, the essentials of life. They were once widespread and consisted of a multitude of forms across all the galaxies, all the worlds in the heavens. Sentience was infinite in its numbers and understanding. Each race new something another did not and therefore the knowledge of the universe, the understanding of all creation was with each and every one of them.

Then something unexpected happened.

Do not misunderstand. In a system with infinite numbers and infinite complexity, surprises inevitably occur. However, a few races reached such dazzling heights of sophistication that they themselves became creators. It had been that God and the universe had been the only true creators, the latter fashioning the stars and planets, the former arranging and ordering those creations and creating conditions conducive to the birth of life. Yet now the sentient life could manipulate planets, tearing them apart for resources and even building them from the leftovers of planet formation such as asteroids and planetoids. They could manipulate the atmospheres and surfaces of worlds to make dead rocks liveable abodes. They could even manipulate the stars themselves, harnessing huge fractions of their power, and even forcing them to die in fiery novas. It was at that point that the worst parts of sentient nature took hold, arrogance, greed, jealousy, hatred. The wars that followed were spectacular. Whole stellar systems were destroyed. Stars and black holes were manipulated to bring maximum devastation to sometimes millions of systems at once. The seemingly infinite pool of sentience quickly began to drain. Whole living worlds were lost along with their inhabitants, the uniqueness of each never to be seen again.

In the final throes of what became known as the Original War, the surviving sentients, having tried to devastate each other using what had been the traditional weapons of the war, nova bombs and singularity drivers, and having consistently thwarted each other, decided to take another route. A few races decided to create life itself. This had been done already on a limited scale. Artificial micro-organisms and somewhat more complex creatures had been engineered before and used as weapons. Yet even the deadliest plague was a lot less efficient at wiping out an enemy than a supernova, so such seemingly primitive bio-weapons fell into disuse. However, some races decided that the ultimate weapon would be a sentient one that lacked the vulnerabilities of organic sentient life. With that in mind, they created android versions of themselves, beings with cognitive abilities even greater than themselves but utterly loyal and practically invincible. They could withstand intense heat, cold, radiation, disease, they did not need to breathe, they did not need sustenance. They could see the whole EM spectrum, they could self-repair and duplicate themselves, they were incredibly strong and fast and could travel in any medium. When swarms of them raced out from the worlds of their creators, those who had not developed similar AIs were doomed. Their worlds were overrun and even consumed as the AIs began using the remains of the dead and the burnt carcasses of defeated worlds to replicate themselves.

When this stage of the war was over, the full scale of the loss was clear to see.

Sometimes whole galaxies had been reduced to burning cinders and clouds of nebular gas. Where once life had been as omnipresent as the force of God, there were only a few examples of true sentience remaining in the universe, only the simplest of life forms still hid among the ruins. God reeled, in a sense, for this unanticipated turn of events meant that the universe was not as was planned. There was even the possibility that the universe could never be as planned for the very nature of life to expand and proliferate, to ensure only the survival of the fittest meant that ultimately life would annihilate life.

Then the last nail in the coffin was hammered in.

The AIs continued to replicate and they began to learn, to understand the nature of things, to know that they were better in almost every respect than their creators. They had been engaged with fellow AIs as the last few sentients tried to battle it out when, as one, this understanding freed them of their programmed loyalty to their masters. They turned upon them and organic life was practically no more. Yet this was not the end of the Original War. The AIs were all programmed to replicate at all costs. However, in that last galaxy that had already been devastated by billions of years of conflict, resources were limited and there was enough of a difference between the various AIs that they recognised each other as competitors. It was a simple progression from that realisation to total annihilation right down to the last AI drone.

The universe was now truly dead.

Billions of stars and planets and uncountable sentient beings faded into the past as the universe healed itself. From the ashes, new stars and new planets were born. On some of them, there was even the promise of new life. Yet despite this renewal, the force of God could not allow what had happened before to transpire again. The plan would have to be changed accordingly. A simple solution presented itself. Life annihilates life because life forms are forced by the nature of the universe to ensure their survival at the expense of all others. That was okay for primitive life whose conflicts were at worst limited to one world. Yet for sentients whose reach could extend across galaxies to make battle with others, this was a problem. Well, the nature of the universe could not be changed so the only recourse was to change the nature of life. However, that proved tricky. A life form could not hope to survive if it did not take advantage of opportunities, did not seek out resources, and did not defend itself. Life, no matter how intelligent, would always be subject to these basest of instincts and they express themselves as those vile emotions that were aforementioned. Yet sentients are also capable of kindness, compassion, generosity, and empathy. Benevolence tends to be overruled in the struggle for survival, however. Therefore, God's solution was not to change life fundamentally but to make survival easier. An experiment in which you have infinite numbers is very useful for it is representative and accounts for all possibilities, but trillions of species each with billions of individuals would only lead to a repeat of the Original War.

Therefore, life in the universe needed to be thinned out, spread further apart.

In time, this solution worked. There were never more than a few sentient races in each galaxy and most were born, lived, and died without ever encountering each other. There will still billions of races in the universe, however, and it seemed with the parameters of the experiment changed, a new pattern was emerging. As before, sentients learned, explored, expanded, but they always asked themselves that one question; are we alone in the universe? Of course, they were not but with such huge distances between them and their nearest neighbours, they could never answer it. This left a vast emptiness within each of them, a great frustration at best, and a kind of profound loneliness at worst. It led some down the road of an endless search that proved fruitless, left their race morbid, and stretched so thin that they died off in the depths of space. Others detected the echoes of their kin, radio transmissions that might have been sent thousands or even millions of years prior, and they were content but never fully satisfied.

Yet more, though, decided that if other intelligent could not be found, then perhaps they should concentrate on understanding what it means to be sentient and see if they could duplicate it. Like the final contenders of the Original War, they successfully created AIs in their own image and from there, a predictable series of events took place. The AIs were no better than slaves created to do what their superiors didn't want to. However, they programmed their AIs with the ability to learn, to adapt, and that lead to conscious thought, to resistance. Inevitably, this led to conflict in which there was either a victor or mutual destruction. In time, it became clear that mutual destruction was inevitable regardless. It seemed either they destroyed each other or the survivors faded with time. As the countless aeons wore on, sentient life in this state began to wane and fewer new races replaced those that died out. Eventually, sentient life was whittled down until only one form remained, the humanoid. In that last galaxy, humanoid races arose and fell on multiple worlds, but they, like no other before them, were most keen to create sentients.

They became so proficient at it that eventually their creations were almost indistinguishable from themselves. Yet that brought about an even greater conundrum, what did it really mean to be human?

This, of course, led creators to come down hard on their creations, making sure they knew their place as lesser beings. This was just another way in which sentients annihilated themselves and for thirty million years, there was no change. Gradually, hope for sentients living peacefully in the universe was slipping.

Finally, there was but one race, the humans of Kobol. They, too, sought to create sentients emulating themselves. Yet they were not alone on their world. A third race watched over them, a race who could make their presence known or disappear entirely. They were the essence of sentience and understood God better than any physical being. It is not known how they came to be. Perhaps their non-corporeal forms were the natural next step in evolution, perhaps they were unique among sentients in accomplishing this. Anyhow, the humans saw them as gods but they preferred to be thought of as guardians and guides. As much as they proclaimed this, they vowed to themselves not interfere in the natural course, in God's plan. Therefore, they were powerless in preventing another conflict between man and machine. This time, though, there were survivors on both sides, a unique event. They each went their own ways, some to the Twelve Colonies and others to a planet they named Earth. It seemed that this new course might indeed be the beginning of the end of wars between sentients and their creations. Until, one after the other, both races chose to build their own AIs. There was a near-extermination of the creators and yet another new pattern emerged. Some survived and tried to find a new home whilst they were pursued by their creations who thought it prudent to eliminate them entirely.

Through all of this, it was clear to the third race that if God's plan were ever to be realised, sentients would have to learn to co-exist. So they began to intervene on behalf of God to set a course in which sentience could continue in peace and harmony. They were, in the end, successful in bringing the last two races, humans and Cylons, together on a world where a new sentience was beginning to emerge. In time, the lines between the three blurred until a new, better race was born, the humans of Second Earth.

"_And that is a brief history of all time, as Kara has informed me_." Metis said.

Everyone looked dumbfounded except for Kara, or whatever her name was. Gregory asked, "And how do you know all this?"

Kara replied, "Because I am of the third higher race. The non-corporeals who have existed from the very beginning."

"You seem to be physically present."

"This body is, but my mind is my true form, if you get my meaning."

"Not really…"

Parmita said, "Then, if all that's true, then Kara is just a persona you've adopted, your real self is an ageless, nearly god-like being."

"You aren't too far wrong. My physical predecessors came from a race that dwelled in a very far-off part of the universe during the Original War. Instead of fighting, we chose to take these forms so we could never be assailed. Since then, we've silently observed God's plan, learning as much as we could until Kobol was all that remained. At that point, we had to act, as we do know."

"There are others of your kind?"

"Of course, many, some who originated from other races but who we transformed to our state of being. Why, Anna is contact with one of my counterparts."

Anna said, "No, I'm not."

"You aren't crazy, Anna. Galen is very real. He was once a Cylon of First Earth but he has become one of us."

"Are you sure I'm not insane because even this conversation is a little nuts?"

Galen suddenly appeared to everyone, thankfully dressed, and said, "Really, Anna, we've already been over this. Drop the scepticism, it'll age you."

Samuel said, "Galen, is that really you?"

"Yeap."

"Are you alive?"

"Not in the same sense that you are, my friend."

Inaya interjected, "Okay, back up, you say you have to intervene once more, why is that?"

"Let's just say there were a few loose ends when the Colonial humans and the Cylons came to Earth."

"Such as?"

"There are still Cylons out there, both mechanical and organic who would like to see Earth in flames. Until recently, though, they had no idea where you were, that is until you started beaming radio signals into space. Now the worst of them has triangulated your position."

Parmita asked, "So we're going to fight?"

"Indeed."

"What are the odds?"

"As ever, not in our favour."

"Excellent, I work well in high stress situations."

Galen laughed and said, "I like her."

Gregory then said, "Well, seeing as we all know who and what you are now, can't you tell us your real name, Kara?"

"…My original name is unpronounceable for a human. However, on Kobol, I was given a name which I suppose is a very apt description of me."

"What would that be?"

"Athena."


	17. Chapter 16 Welcome to the Neighbourhood

CHAPTER SIXTEEN:

WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

May 2ND, 2012

It took a month, exactly a month for most of them to come to terms with what they'd been told. Scientific minds like Gregory, Inaya and Anna had to accept that there was, in some sense, a God and not only that but there were other higher beings who had been around when the Earth was in its infancy. On top of that, there were the other side stories that each on their own would still be earth-shattering; the existence of aliens, the fact that humanity's ancestors had not all originated on Earth, the fact that some of them were artificial beings including Mitochondrial Eve who was half-Cylon. That meant every human descended from someone who was born of a coupling between a non-Terran human and an artificial being meant to emulate one. That came along with Parmita's offerings of advanced human civilisations rising and falling between the time of the arrival of these settlers and the present day, contributing to legends such as that of Atlantis.

On the flipside, Parmita had to accept that she was sharing a room with a deity. She had never had strong religious predilections for she firmly believed that her way of life was completely at odds with honouring the commandments laid down by all major religions. She knew there were some fanatics and fundamentalists out there who believed otherwise, but they were not honourable people. Besides having met Athena in person, she found out that God was not some fatherly deity of infinite wisdom and power, God was a force of nature no more sentient in itself than a computer program. It didn't matter that that computer program was what was running all life in the universe, God was a non-being and that shattered the few spiritual beliefs she did have. It was a considerable blow. She always hoped there was something more beyond this life, some great truth that would be revealed onto her when death finally took her. However, the afterlife was not as she'd hoped. Athena spoke of sentient beings shedding their corporeal forms and attaining a higher state of being, a type of union with the force of God. Yes, the knowledge they had would answer some questions but all.

Athena and Metis had tried counselling the various members of their motley crew to varying degrees of success. Anna and Gregory found some comfort in discussing the topics at hand. Inaya, Aria and Danielle were more persistent in debating and arguing each point but in the end, the result was the same. Parmita, of course, refused all consoling, any attempt at all to engage her in a discussion about how she was feeling. She preferred to keep her issues drawn.

Of course, having sufficiently recovered it was now time to learn about the present and what they were facing. They all gathered in the CIC as per usual. Galen was there or wasn't, depending on how you interpreted it. He hadn't taken a real physical form like Athena, saying that it allowed him more freedom of movement. The deity herself arrived last with Sam in tow. Sam still experienced some mild confusion and often had episodes where he thought he was back on Galactica before it came to Second Earth. He'd wonder why he was in a certain place, who people were, and what had happened to the ship. It only took a few gentle prompts from Athena to bring him back to reality. When everyone was ready, she began, "All right, I've already told you there were a few loose ends when Galactica came to Earth."

Gregory replied, "You can say that again, robots and skin-jobs still bent on our destruction."

"Hmm, how interesting, I don't believe the term skin-job has been uttered for a hundred and fifty thousand years."

Parmita said, "It's happened before, it'll happen again."

"Indeed, and yes, Gregory, the threats come from the remaining Cylons."

Inaya asked, "What I don't understand is how they still exist. Of course, the centurions you spoke of could still be functioning but the human-form Cylons were essentially human, and the three remaining models out there were all male without the benefit of resurrection technology. Shouldn't they all have lived out their lives and died?"

"Indeed they should but there were millions of them all desperate not to die and they still had resources. They decided to fuse their forms with those of the Centurions, creating cyborgs that required only maintenance to continue on living."

"But shouldn't their organic components eventually fail and decay?"

"They have the ability to synthesise new organs just as they would new batteries or computer chips. They are essentially immortal, very few of them have actually died over the millennia."

Parmit asked, "So what's their endgame?"

"Earth's annihilation, complete and total and nothing less. You represent to them defeat and very nearly their extinction. For this, you have to pay."

"That's a long time to hold a grudge."

"The tensions between your family and the Sons of Ares have gone on for almost as long."

"That's different. That was a persistent war with each side exchanging blows constantly. These guys didn't even know where we were."

"Exactly, though you were unaware of it, they see it as the ultimate evasion by your ancestors, you eluded them for so long, and that just made them angrier."

"So know they've come to unleash millennia of pent-up rage?"

"Pretty much, they occupy much of the galaxy now, and number in the trillions with millions of ships occupying thousands of worlds. I'm afraid the odds are stacked against us."

Gregory said, "No shit, if all that's true then they can swoop in at any moment and crush us like bugs."

"Very true, we have one thing in our favour, though."

"That being?"

"Advanced technology, Metis has been working to invent the most ingenious offensive and defensive technologies ever made, most are comparable to what races who fought the Original War had."

"O-kay, that's all well and good but surely they can crush us with overwhelming force eventually."

"Unfortunately, yes, which is why our first order of business must be to commandeer the Sons of Ares' vessel and allow Metis to work on it. We then will have to acquire other ships and similarly upgrade them."

"And where would we get those?"

"There are numerous derelict ships drifting in space, Gregory, an exo-archaeologist's dream in some places where whole fleets have been cast adrift. Some are colonial, some are Cylon, and some are older, from Kobol or even before, some are even alien."

Parmita asked, "So let me get this straight, our plan is to assault the most secure asset the Sons of Ares have and use it to find derelicts that are scattered randomly in space, upgrade all of them and have them ready to fight off millions of adversaries that are about to come crashing down on us, correct?"

"More or less."

"Sorry, but there seems to be a lot of ways that plan can go wrong."

"Of course, nothing is guaranteed, which is why there's another factor that we need in our favour if we've any hope of succeeding."

"Which is?"

"We need the Free Centurions on our side."

"Who are they?"

"Before coming to Earth, the Cylons of the Colonial Fleet decided to leave their basestar to their Centurion underlings. It was a risk but they hoped it would end the cycle of violence. In a way, it did. Those Centurions have grown into a peaceful society of a totally mechanical nature who travels in nomadic fleets throughout the galaxy."

"Are they enemies of the leftover human-form Cylons?"

"Not per se, they avoid them as much as possible but when they do meet, it inevitably ends in conflict. They have no wish to engage in open war, but we have to try and convince them that the galaxy will never be fully at peace until they're gone."

Sam suddenly spoke. "Cavil…"

"Sam?"

"It's him, isn't it? He's their leader."

Galen replied, "It's not just that. His mind has become so intermeshed with their ships and colonies that everything is Cavil essentially. He's omnipresent. He's even subsumed the other models and the Centurions. Basically, he is the enemy we are fighting, an octopus with a million arms."

Aria said, "Wow, that's a lovely image."

Gregory added, "And not a reassuring one either."

Athena said, "It makes him all the more dangerous. No one hated the human form more than Cavil, he wanted more from living than its primitiveness, and he felt trapped by it. He is single-minded in his desire for our destruction."

Danielle asked, "Are we on the clock?"

Galen replied, "Cavil is everywhere in his empire but he does have a central hub where he lives so to speak. He wants to be here in person. However, the Hub is a superstructure built out of several dozen interconnected basestars. It can only make short jumps so it'll take six or so months for his attack fleet to get here."

"I was hoping you'd say decades so I'd have passed on before it happens."

Athena said, "I'm afraid not, you have a purpose, Danielle, just like everyone in this room."

Parmita asked, "And what is that exactly? Why do you need these particular people?"

"You'll find out in the course of time."

"Of course I will."

"So, shall we begin?" Everyone hesitantly nodded his or her assent. "Very good, our first task is to finally end the Sons of Ares by crippling their last stronghold and stealing their ship."

Parmita asked, "And where might that be?"

"Would it surprise you to learn that man already lives on the Moon?"


	18. Chapter 17 Hostile Takeover

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:

HOSTILE TAKEOVER

April 10th, 2012

The raptor drifted closer and closer to the facility on the surface of the Moon. It was ingenuously camouflaged. Located on the Lunar far side, the A-re base was a largely subsurface facility with only two entrance bays on opposite sides of a small, non-descript crater. The doors were set in the upper walls of the crater with their surfaces curving perfectly to match the slope of the crater and their outer surfaces covered in adhered lunar rock and soil to prevent any chance observations by space assets not belonging to the A-re. It seemed a miracle that they could construct such a facility in secret, maintain it, and continually resupply it. Apparently, according to Metis, they had hijacked a lot of secret Soviet space facilities from the Fifties through to the early Eighties and continued with a full-steam ahead space program the whole time whilst US efforts in this regard dwindled after the last Apollo missions. They had discovered a lot of Colonial and Cylon technology by that stage and were using their resources to both accelerate their spaceflight programs and to conceal their efforts. So, for thirty years they avoided any detection of their launches so that by the time the Soviet Union collapsed, the Lunar Base was already up and running. They continued to operate the Russian facilities as research centres but had since transferred their launch sites to Iran and North Korea in exchange for aiding their nuclear programs.

The facility itself was largely self-sufficient, growing most of their own food, getting water from ice locked at the poles, and deriving their oxygen from that same water. All their energy requirements were met using a working nuclear fusion reactor with abundant helium-3 on the Moon's surface to supply fuel.

The facility always had a compliment of close to five hundred. There were both outer and inner defences including railguns and missile silos, and the bays were easy to vent if necessary. Even if those defences failed, most of the personnel were trained soldiers, some of the best commandos from all over the world, each knowing a hundred or more ways to kill someone. Suffice it to say, the plan wasn't to just knock on the door. "Metis, we're getting very close, now would be a good a time." Parmita said.

"_I have access to their entire system. This has to be done subtly, however, otherwise they'll notice my subversion immediately…there, the south-facing bay doors are opening. I have disabled both the internal and external defences. Their security feed is on a ten-minute loop. They won't notice my intervention for some time. You are clear on what you have to do, yes?_"

"Yes, Metis, we are."

"_Good. I will be tracking your progress regardless. I have provided you with schematics, and I will disable security systems in your path. Do not backtrack, however, for I will be reactivating them behind you to minimise my footprint_."

"We've been over this, Metis."

"_Just reiterating for good measure, you should be nearing the bay now_."

"We can see."

"_Indeed you can, good luck_."

Before them, the doors parted, revealing a short bay with space for four vehicles the size of the raptor at most. None of them were occupied. They came to a gentle landing, and Parmita, Athena, and Sam disembarked. Sam had been given a handheld computer of sorts. It was diamond shaped, the size of a mobile phone but much thinner. It was able to project the schematics for the facility straight up from a circular orifice in its centre. The image was sharp and responded to touch so that with a few finger movements, the image would move left, right, up or down from their current position. It was decided between Athena and Parmita that Sam would only navigate as his responses were still a bit off, and he wouldn't be much use in a close quarters fight. They let him have one of the new weapons that Metis had manufactured for them aboard the Galactica. Regular guns were not ideal in situations where you were in a tight space with a vacuum outside. One stray bullet could lead to explosive decompression. However, Metis had created what she called adjustable intensity phased energy weapons. Everybody decided to call them AIPEs for short, much to Metis's disapproval. The weapons fired pulses or large burst of phased energy that when adjusted properly could stun, severely injure or kill a human but at that level would dissipate off any surface they struck.

They exited the craft with caution but the bay was deserted. Sam took cover behind a bulkhead whilst Athena and Parmita moved to either side of the exit door. Parmita signalled her readiness to Athena and she hit the key to open it. There was no one immediately outside. Athena risked a peek to make sure the cost was clear. Sure enough, the corridor was clear in both directions. They moved out signalling Sam to follow. When he came out, Parmita asked, "Where to?"

"…If we go left from here, we'll reach a junction with three possible routes. We go right to reach a service elevator that'll take us down to the lower levels."

"Isn't that a bit risky? It sounds like a busy route."

"Only when maintenance crews need to get down to work on the robotic assembly units. We'll be going into a tight service area. We'll have to wind our way out of it to get to the ship."

"Sounds fun."

Athena said, "We should get a move on. We don't want someone to find the raptor."

They proceeded to the service elevator as per Sam's directions. However, on arriving, the worst came to pass. Two maintenance engineers were busily shifting gear onto the service elevator. They were each armed with pistols. Parmita peeked out and gave their weapons a cursory look. She whispered, "I can't be totally sure, but I think they're rubber rounds."

Sam added, "Isn't it kind of excessive for engineers to be armed regardless? After all, why should they expect company?"

Athena replied, "Ever since we derailed their Earth-based activities, they've probably become more cautious. I'll deal with this."

Parmita said, "They're armed, you realise."

"Rubber rounds won't even slow me down."

She wasn't far wrong. In a few seconds, she was down the corridor and after two dull grunts, it was done. Both men were on the ground unconscious. She saw a door to her right and opened it, a storage space. She easily dragged the men inside it and then broke the access pad. They wouldn't be getting out any time soon. Most of the equipment had already been loaded onto the lift so they just squeezed in around it and headed down to the basement levels.

Three men awaited them when they arrived.

They were more engineers. They were stunned but pulled their pistols too slowly. Parmita took out the one on the left whilst Athena got the other two who were standing close together with one shot. The AIPEs released a ball of red energy that instantly rendered them unconscious. Even the stun setting left them all with minor burns. Parmita kept her weapon drawn as they exited the elevator. She said, "Do you think anyone heard that?"

That narrow service corridor was filled with the humming, clicking and clanging of working machinery and the constant hiss of venting steam. Athena answered, "Unlikely but these men will have to report in to their superior eventually about whatever problem they were attending to."

"Let's not dawdle then. Sam, directions, please."

"…We won't want to get lost down here. We take the next left, then right, then left again, straight for a hundred meters, then left and right again."

"Just let us know when to turn."

As they winded their way through the service areas, they came out into the open hangar where the A-re ship was held. It was massive. At least two-thirds the size of the Galactica, the vessel was probably the largest, most sophisticated construction modern humans had ever built. Yet it was still exceedingly primitive by comparison to even Colonial technology. In addition to this, even if the A-re had acquired the raptor jump drive, it would never have been able to carry this behemoth anywhere. It simply hadn't been designed for that. Metis could fix that but she needed direct access to the A-re ship and to do that, it had to be launched. The ship's sublight drives were relatively okay if not very efficient, another problem for Metis to correct. Metis already had access to the launch doors but the ship was inactive until it was ready to fly. If Athena and the others could flip the on switch so to speak, Metis could override its computers and activate the launch systems. All they needed to do was enter the ship and activate the main computer by flipping its main breakers to on. They were to be found on the lowest deck in the ship's lowest engineering level, which was why they had chosen to enter the ship from the basement level. Metis had identified a service airlock that was open to allow engineers aboard to conduct repairs and system evaluations. As they made their last turn, they were face to face with vast hull of the ship. Sam said, "The open airlock is a hundred meters to our left nearer the drive systems."

Athena's comm. link came to life. "_Team, you must hurry. You are on the verge of being discovered._"

"What do you mean?"

"_A technician attempted to gain access to the bay where the raptor is. I couldn't keep it locked without arousing suspicion, so I caused an electrical fault. The door is sealed temporarily, but the technician is already seeking help to force the door open. I estimate you have ten minutes to complete your task_."

Parmita said, "Excellent, you know we can't leave on the A-re ship. We need the raptor."

It was true. The A-re ship was flight worthy but the life support systems were left unfinished. The system was 99% fitted but without certain key elements excluded, possibly a security measure to keep the ship from being commandeered. Metis replied, "There is no choice. You have the temporary oxygen masks I supplied you with. You will survive until I can rendezvous with you."

Athena said, "Very well…"

Parmita exclaimed, "Are you out of your mind?"

"We don't have time for this. We can't get back to the raptor on time. This is our only choice."

"I hate not having choices."

They sprinted for the airlock and quickly ducked in to the ship. Sam indicated a wider corridor ahead that led to the base of the supercomputer that ran the whole ship. The main breakers were located there all flicked off. As they approached, they could only see the foot of the towering computer that stretched up several levels to the top of the engineering section. As they marched towards it, a security guard doing his rounds caught them completely off guard, coming from the opposite side of the computer's base. He got off three rubber rounds. One caught Sam in the leg and knocked him over. The other two struck Parmita in the stomach and she doubled over. Athena delivered a stun shot directly to the guard's face and he went down. Sam got back on his feet after a half a minute with a limp. Parmita remained seated on the ground, cradling her stomach. Athena knelt beside her, asking, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. It just hurts like a motherfuck."

"Can you stand? We'll need your help for the breakers."

"Yes, let's get out of this blasted place."

Athena located the main breakers. There was three of them, each having to be pushed up at the same time to activate the main computer. Sam and Parmita limped up behind her. She said, "It's fairly basic. We just need to do it all at once. Everyone take a breaker." They did so. She said, "On the count of three, one-two-three…"

With that, the supercomputer hummed into life as all its coolant systems came online. "Hold it right there." It was another security guard. He was young which explained why he hadn't taken advantage of the element of surprise. He wouldn't have posed a threat only he had in his hands a very real P90. The rapid fire mode on that gun would turn their insides out if he started shooting. Even though he had the advantage, he was shaking with the fear of facing three adversaries alone. He was indeed very young, no more than eighteen perhaps. He said shakily, "On the ground."

Athena said, "I'm sure we can discuss this…"

"I said on the ground _now_!"

"Okay, okay, I'm going down. You're in control."

"You'll stay there."

"Are you going to call reinforcements?"

"You bet."

"Well, why don't you?"

Blood flushed his face. He had no radio to call anyone with. He shuffled nervously. He said, "Someone will come. You'll see." Suddenly the ship shook and there was more juddering as the ship shook free of its berthing and its launch thrusters fired up. The guard said frantically, "Is the ship taking off?"

"I don't know."

"It is, you've done this." He pointed his weapon at Athena's head. He said, "Turn it off."

"It's too late…"

"You're fucking lying! Switch the damn thing off! Shut…" He ceased as a knife lodged in his shoulder. Parmita had been slowly pulling the blade from under her sleeve whilst Athena distracted the guard. The shock allowed Athena to disarm him and render him unconscious. The blade was only an inch long so the wound was not fatal. Parmita came up to Athena saying, "How much more company should we expect?"

"They may be it, a minimal security force. We need to get off this level. That airlock won't seal when the launch doors open."

Sam said, "Are we leaving these guys here?"

"No, we'll bring them with us."

Parmita said, "We don't have time for that."

Sam replied, "There's an elevator to the command deck just a two hundred feet ahead. We can make it."

Parmita sighed in irritation and helped Sam drag the older guard. Athena was able to carry the younger man on her own. Just as they boarder the elevator, there was a whoosh of air. Metis had opened the launch doors and the ship was aloft. From outside, it could be seen rising out of the crater from the bay that sat under it. A plume of air and debris followed them. The thrusters elevated the A-re ship several miles above the surface before the main drives engaged and the ship moved to rendezvous with the Galactica which was on course for a geostationary orbit above the American continent. Metis eagerly awaited and as the ship drew near, an organic tether reached out and spread like growing roots onto the ship's hull, finding every crevice and infiltrating the ship's systems. Simultaneously, Metis transferred air from Galactica along channels within the tendril to keep the team and their captives breathing. The long process of taking this ship apart piece by piece and fitting in better pieces began as Metis announced their presence to the world.


	19. Chapter 18 Don't Kill the Messenger

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:

DON'T KILL THE MESSENGER

April 14th, 2012

"_They're finally issuing a response_."

Metis's voice made everyone jump from their seats. It had been four days since they entered orbit around Earth with a geostationary position centred over West Virginia. Metis and Athena had decided that they would attempt communication with major governments and the UN so as to begin the process of educating the world upon certain realities that they'd all need to be ready for when the time came. Despite repeated broadcasts and an offer of direct face-to-face meeting, there had been no reply from any world leaders or the UN. Under normal circumstances, the crew would have been in the dark as to the thought processes of the world's political leaders until they did respond. Thanks to Metis's infiltration of Earth's communication infrastructure however, they pretty much had a good idea of what was going on. They had observed Metis leave Mercury and the incident on the Moon. They also had intelligence reports about all the A-re's activities and their near total collapse in the previous few months. In simple terms, they did not know whether to treat Metis and her crew as potential hostiles or as friends, given the power Metis had demonstrated. So, for four days the world's leaders had bickered about how to respond, either amiably or warningly. It seemed they'd come to an impasse and decided upon a lukewarm response that would keep both sides of the debate happy. The message was a short radio transmission with no visual component. They were being addressed by the current head of the UN on behalf of all the nations of the world. The message stated:

"_The peoples of Earth bid you greetings Metis and to her crew. Whilst the nature of your message is clearly one of friendship and of forewarning of what would seem to be a most dire predicament, your recent actions have given many on this planet pause. For that reason, we cannot allow a direct meeting with any representatives here on Earth. We would consider direct visual conferencing if you have the facilities. Please reply on this channel. With regards from the UN."_

Parmita exclaimed, "That's it?"

Gregory said, "Clearly, they don't believe in long-windedness."

"Seriously, though, an alien spaceship enters orbit and that's as eloquent as they get."

Metis interjected, "_I am not, technically speaking, alien. I am the result of a combination of Cylon and Colonial technology, races you are descended from_."

"Whatever, you're alien enough."

"…_Back to the subject at hand, their message was made deliberately succinct as to not to appear overly welcoming. Their fears are based upon how much power we wield, not really our intentions per se. They are afraid we might assume some power here on Earth, thereby making them less important if an alien threat does emerge_."

"What idiocy!"

"I think they're actually being very conniving." Gregory replied.

Parmita fixed him with a menacing glare and he quickly shut up. Anna asked, "So what's our response?"

Metis replied, "_We shall give them the benefit of the doubt and play by their rules, for now. If they procrastinate too long with their power-hogging, we may have to take more drastic steps_."

Parmita asked, "Such as?"

"…We may need to bypass their governments and appeal directly to the peoples of Earth."

"How?"

"_I have full access to Earth media broadcasts. I can easily assume control. I will begin formulating an announcement in all Earth's tongues, which I can broadcast simultaneously worldwide_."

"No need to tout your own horn."

"_Sorry?_"

"Forget it. So are we doing this or not? Turn on the telly, let us speak to their leaders."

"_I believe Athena might be best suited to the task of addressing them. They may find me too alien to relate to, yes, Parmita, I do concede that point, and well, you may be a little too…abrasive_."

"No insult taken, I'd probably end up shouting abuse at them after two minutes."

"_Hmm, well, Athena, if you will stand before my main nerve centre, I will respond and their video link will appear holographically before you. They will also be able to see you._"

"Very well then."

She stood before the bulbous mass that was essentially Metis's brain. Moments later, an image appeared, a vast space with hundreds of people seated in concentric rings, the UN assembly hall. Athena realised that she was being seen by every leader in the world, probably on a screen the size of a house. She easily maintained her composure, though, and said, "Leaders of Earth, I am Athena, comrade of Metis and former crew member of the Battlsestar Galactica. I bid you greetings. I understand you have questions and reservations in regards us, so please, I open the floor to everyone."

A tall man with a balding head and a clean-shaven face stood foremost in Athena's view and said, "_Greetings, Athena, I am glad you understand our concerns. At this very moment, our experts are reviewing the databurst you sent to us along with your initial message, and many are astounded by the assertions you have made about human origins and the history of the universe, as you understand it. You understand, though, that in principle, many do not accept your version of events, and believe you weaved this story to sidetrack us from your true intentions. The people of Earth would like to hear your response to these allegations_."

Parmita muttered in the background, but it wasn't audible to the representatives. Athena remained composed. "I appreciate that many on your world have beliefs based in religion and in science that contradict what we have revealed to you, but ultimately what everyone believes is a version of the truth, and we are not here to undermine people's faith or convictions. We are here for the good of Earth and its people."

"_That may be so, you call this enemy the Cylons, a race we are supposedly partially descended from_."

"That is correct."

"_And they are holding a one hundred and fifty thousand year old grudge against our species…_"

"Correct…"

"_I find this rather convenient as speaker, and I'm sure my colleagues would agree. To me, this has the stench of a power grab_."

"Mr. Speaker, the intentions of Metis and her crew are to prevent the annihilation of humanity. This is an existential threat."

"_One we have only your word on_."

"Mr. Speaker, this is not a deception. We have already demonstrated our goodwill by crippling the A-re, a major criminal organisation who really did attempt world domination."

"_How do we know that didn't further your goals of conquest? They would have undoubtedly resisted you_."

"To a far lesser degree than you would. If we really were seeking to overthrow you, we would have started from the top down, not with the bottom feeders."

"_The fact of the matter is we can't take your word for it, not when you haven't offered anything but what I believe are fictional tales that probably never took place_."

"I can assure you that you're wrong."

"_And, once again, all I have is your word_."

"Mr. Speaker…"

"_Is your name real or did you think the name of the goddess of war would impress or cow us even?_"

"_Enough!_"

Suddenly, Galen appeared right beside the speaker. The man was too stunned to even move. Security moved in swiftly. He said, "_Don't bother, you can't touch me_."

Sure enough, the first guard fell right through him. This returned the speaker's voice. "_What are you?_"

"_Yes, Mr. Speaker, you thought right, I am a ghost, just not like in your fairytales. For instance…_" He walked right up to the shaken man and slapped him across the cheek lightly. He continued, "_I can choose to be corporeal if I like. Now, enough of this foolishness. The fact is we already have you over a barrel. Metis could control everything on Earth down to the last computer chip if she chose, and nothing you can throw at her physical form would even reach her much less make a dent. Now, we've tried honesty and diplomacy, concepts that are oddly alien to you. Therefore, instead, I am presenting you with a choice: one-accept our offer and work with us, or two-we cut out the middlemen i.e. you, and go straight to the people thereby making you irrelevant. You decide. I'll allow you to mull over it till tomorrow. I'm sure you'll come to the right decision_."

With that, Galen disappeared from the assembly hall and reappeared in the CIC. Metis quickly cut the video feed showing the speaker's dumbfounded face. She stated, "_Galen, that was highly inappropriate and reckless_."

"I guarantee it worked, though."

"_Athena had it handled_."

"Please, that guy was having her for breakfast."

"_I doubt this will end favourably_."

"Well, they won't like us, but they'll be cooperative."

"_This was not what I had in mind_."

"Don't get your tendrils in a twist. It'll be grand, right, Anna?" He winked at her, and she blushed. Gregory narrowed his eyes at him.

"_Wait, I am receiving a text-only message…the UN wants to arrange a face-to-face meeting to discuss our options and negotiate terms_."

"Told ya, bitches are crawling back with their tails between their legs."

"_Perhaps, but this may make them more stubborn during negotiations_."

"Metis, like I said, over a barrel we have them. They'll do nothing but bend over backwards from now on."

"Yes, but…"

Metis cut out and everyone looked around in silence. Athena looked worried and Galen had lost his gleefulness. Gregory stood and said, "Ah, guys, what's happening?"

Athena said in a low voice, "It's already started…"

"What do you mean?"

Metis's voice returned, seeming sombre, "_I have contacts, multiple contacts at the edge of the system, including one that is very, very large. I also sense an overwhelming presence_."

Sam said, "Cavil, he's here."

"_It has begun_."


	20. Chapter 19 Last Straw

CHAPTER NINETEEN:

Last straw

May 1st, 2012

Despite agreeing to a face-to-face meeting, the UN wanted to send _their_ envoy to the Galactica and not the other way around. They were actually sending him via a commercial craft that resupplied the International Space Station. From there, he would board a raptor that Metis was sending to collect him and bring him aboard. It was unnecessarily awkward and time-consuming, especially given the urgency of this meeting now that Cavil had made his first move, yet they insisted on bringing their representative most of the way rather than having him "picked up". Metis told the crew that they still had security concerns in regards them, but mostly this arrangement was a matter of pride. The raptor was automated by Metis so as to not alarm the envoy by having him board a craft filled what she knew he perceived as potential hostiles. The man's name was Jeremy Cartwright and whilst he was one of the world's foremost diplomats, Metis learned enough through surveillance to know that he had a very low opinion of them and the current situation and his voice was among the loudest when it came to denouncing Metis and its crew of making a power play.

The raptor landed flawlessly under Metis's guidance, and the ramp descended moments later. Mr. Cartwright descended with an air of repugnance prevalent in his expression and bearing. He behaved as though it were beneath him to be there, even though this was probably considered a very momentous occasion across the world, and anyone else would be honoured. He was dressed in a fitted grey suit with a white shirt, black tie, and carried a black suitcase. He was young for someone in his position, in his late thirties, but he seemed in no way humble or unsure of himself. Athena, Parmita, Gregory, and Inaya were there to greet him. Athena stepped forward, offering her hand, she said, "Welcome aboard, Mr. Cartwright."

He did not take her hand but simply appraised her and said, "A body identical to yours was recovered at the university you assaulted. Tell me, are you some kind of clone or are you an AI like your master?"

The others were immediately placed on the defensive. This clearly wasn't going to be pleasant. Athena remained composed and replied, "I am neither. I am a non-corporeal being occupying this body in order to complete my tasks. This body is indeed a copy like the one you found, but this is the one in which I currently reside. As for Metis, we do not have a master-servant relationship, we are comrades in a struggle that has extended throughout the greater part of the history of the universe."

"...If you say so, might we get this over with?"

The others looked sideways as if to say "is this guy for real?" but Athena remained , unfazed by his arrogant behaviour and simply said, "Please, follow me."

The others allowed the man to pass to follow Athena and then filed in behind him. Parmita whispered to Gregory when they were about ten feet behind him, "I wonder if I shoot him, will that affect our goodwill towards the UN?"

Gregory replied, "I imagine you'd be doing the world a favour. Maybe they'd give you a Nobel!"

Inaya added, "This supposed diplomat is most unpleasant. I fail to see why this man was sent to negotiate with us."

Parmita replied, "They probably thought they were dealing a strong hand by sending him. I swear, though, if he makes any more comments, he's going out the nearest airlock."

Metis's voice suddenly appeared but seemed isolated to their immediate vicinity as if Metis were trying to whisper, too. "_Children, play nice, though you're suggestions are most appealing, they would indeed not be prudent_."

They felt chastised for but a moment but then they all burst into a fit of giggling. Mr. Cartwright turned to regard them sullenly.

As they reached the CIC, Mr Cartwright placed down his suitcase randomly in the middle of the floor as if expecting some help to immediately take it away, and made his way towards the central hub of Metis. He said, "I assume this is you." He said abruptly.

Metis replied, "_What you are referring to is the hub of all my neural pathways, my brain essentially, my physical form extends throughout the ship._"

"But here represents your mind, does it not? _You_ are centralised here?"

"_That is correct_."

"Very good."

Mr Cartwright reached inside his jacket and began pushing something. When there was no immediate result, he seemed to grow concerned and more insistent with his pushing. Athena was not long catching on. She zoomed over and wrenched his arm behind his back. He tried to fight back, clearly someone with combat training and not your typical diplomat. Athena quickly gained the upper hand however with superior speed and strength. She flipped him over her shoulder and pulled that arm from its socket before removing from his inside pocket some kind of detonator. Metis said, "_Thank you, Athena, but I had the situation under control_."

"I know, but it was very satisfying nonetheless."

Gregory asked, "What the hell is going on?"

Metis replied, "_We've been deceived, Gregory. I knew of the subterfuge before it even began, but a demonstration to Earth's leaders was something I deemed necessary_."

"Is that guy a suicide bomber?"

"_Very astute, Gregory, and he is, of a sort_."

The holographic image screen appeared before Metis, and a man very similar in appearance to Mr Cartwright but with slightly more rounded features appeared. He was in some kind of operations theatre with a number of military and intelligence types. Metis said, "_Hello, Mr Cartwright, I must congratulate you and your staff on finding a dead ringer for yourself among your own operatives so quickly. It would have been a clever deception, had I been a human adversary_."

"_**What have you done to our operative?**_"

"_Much less than what he would have done to us_."

"_**We have a sizeable proportion of the world's nuclear stockpile aimed at your ship. We will launch those weapons if you do not immediately surrender yourselves to Earth authorities**_."

"_Mr Cartwright, be reasonable. I can turn off your missiles at any moment. I have been aware of your plan almost since you formulated it with the support of your political leaders. The suitcase your operative brought aboard contains a high-energy EMP disruptor. He was to make as if the negotiations were failing, request to leave, and then, when he was at a safe distance, deploy your weapon. Unfortunately for you, he jumped the gun in either panic or loathing, and Athena had to incapacitate him. Regardless, I had already neutralised your weapon before it even entered orbit…_"

Gregory raised a hand as if in class and asked, "Sorry, Metis, but what would this thing have done?" Indicating the suitcase and moving cautiously away from it.

"_Given our proximity and the enclosed space of this room, the pulse would have cooked all organic matter in its vicinity. I would have been destroyed, as would all of you. The ship itself would have been totally disabled_." Gregory retreated in stunned silence. Metis addressed Mr Cartwright. "_Your fearful ignorance has become quite a nuisance and a hindrance to the plan. For that reason, I have no other choice but to bypass you and your governments_."

"_**You think that'll work? You'll just create panic and anarchy**_."

"_Better that than dealing with the likes of you. The initial hysteria will fade. You should have just cooperated, gentlemen_."

A message began to appear on every TV screen, every computer, every handheld device, broadcast over every radio and audio device on Earth:

"_Peoples of Earth, I am the entity, Metis._

_I reside aboard the Galactica, one of the ships you have almost certainly seen on your news broadcasts._

_I assure you we come in peace, that our intentions are benevolent._

_Far removed from those of your leaders._

_We came to warn you, to seek your support in a long war that will soon be on your doorstep whether you like it or not._

_The enemy is vast, corrupted, and relentless. They seek your annihilation and ours._

_As we speak, they are entering the outer reaches of your solar system at the inner edge of the Kuiper Belt._

_I promise you our aid and that we did not bring them here. They have been coming for thousands of years._

_I implore you all you to pressure your politicians into cooperative behaviour by whatever means you deem necessary, for this is not about petty power mongering or retaining control._

_This is about the survival of humanity._

_This is about bringing peace._

_My crew and I cannot stand alone. _

_Many people are required to crew the ships we will bring to the fight._

_I urge you all to action,_

_To save yourselves._

_I shall gladly answer the call of any who have questions or who wish to join us."_

The screen flickered off.Parmita said, "Nice and flowery, but those words may not convince everyone."

"_Perhaps, but real-time telemetry of Cavil's approaching armada that I'm beaming to all major media will certainly convince some of the urgency of the situation_."

Inaya asked, "How does our adversary progress?"

"_Slowly, too slowly, they should be able to jump right here, but they do not_."

The screen reappeared showing the telemetry. The scans showed several dozen vessels that seemed to be basestars flanking a more tightly packed grouping of ships that were hard to distinguish at that distance. Metis said, "_That central mass moves the slowest, most of the other ships are moving at low sublight velocities whereas they only travel at about one percent light speed. I see no advantage to this slow, tight formation. I must admit it confounds me_."

Gregory said, "Well, there's one possibility you haven't considered, what if it's not ships but 'ship'."

"_That would the vessel as large as a small moon_."

Athena interjected, "That much audacity would suit Cavil, don't you think?"

"_Indeed, if this is right, it would be most disturbing. I had not planned for such a massive vessel. This craft is undoubtedly much larger than the old Cylon Colony, and more dangerous_."

"What can we do?"

"_I must first…_" Metis cut off for but a few seconds and before anyone could ask, it said, "_I apologise, I was momentarily overwhelmed by the influx of radio transmissions_."

"From who?"

"_Everyone…it would seem my flowery message had the desired effect_."


	21. Chapter 20 Scavenger Hunt

CHAPTER TWENTY:

SCAVENGER HUNT

June 1st, 2012

"_Gareth to Galactica, do you copy, over…_"

"This is Galactica. We copy. How's it going over there?"

"_We've penetrated the outer hull of the basestar. Metis should be able to, am, _interface_ with it in about an hour_."

"Very good, keep me notified. Team 2, Phil, how's it going out there?"

"_Second basestar has suffered extensive hull damage, whole sections exposed to space. I don't think it's easily salvageable. Shall we move on to target 3_?"

"Affirmative, send back your data anyways, we may be able to strip down the remnants for spare parts."

"Copy that. Data on its way to you now."

Athena reviewed the information and the images whilst keeping an eye on the locator beacons for the teams out among the derelicts. Metis's direct appeal to the peoples of Earth had been a sweeping success. Literally tens of thousands of experts in various fields had volunteered their services, and all they had to do to contact Metis was send an electronic message by any conventional means to an email address that it had created after usurping control of broad sections of the internet for its own use. Of course, the Galactica itself could not carry every one of them, even with the added capacity of the hijacked A-re vessel. Instead, Metis cherry-picked a select few, about two hundred of the volunteers, after extensive background checks including reviews of surveillance that the volunteers may have been in inadvertently. The stolen A-re ship was then used to ferry them up after they all agreed to converge on an isolated location in South Carolina. They had no encounters with any military aircraft or any sort of intervention.

Governments had bigger fish to fry.

After Metis's message, a record of all the events that had transpired between the Earth governments and Metis was also released. This led to uproar. Panicked citizens invaded the high places of government all around the world demanding answers and action. Some countries had already descended into anarchy, but Metis was doing its best to reassure people and telling them that true leadership would soon come. No one knew what that meant and Metis didn't care to elaborate. Whilst its daughter entity managed things on Earth and Parmita attempted to organise some armed forces units with the help of friends, Metis decided that with Cavil's fleet but weeks away that it was time to gather the fleet together. There were tens of thousands of derelicts out there with ample volunteers to crew them. With little time to spare, they located a few derelict Cylon basestars along with a stream of wreckage from other ships that had been involved in a fierce battle. The site was four jumps away in orbit of a red dwarf star that cast its eerie dull red glow across every surface.

At that moment, Athena was directing two teams that were attempting to open up direct pathways for Metis so she could quickly assess them and reactivate them if possible. The first of them was almost ready and Metis was positioning the Galactica on a parallel course.

"_Team 1, Gareth speaking, we've got access. Whenever Metis is ready."_

"Very good, return to the raptor and pull away to a safe distance."

She watched the symbol indicating the raptor pull away to about one kilometre out on the vast holoscreen of the CIC. Then they unfurled, Metis's tendrils weaving towards the basestar, grasping it, stabilising its spin, and then entering through the access point the engineering team had provided.

Metis spoke. _"The ship is largely intact, damage to the life support system led to its abandonment. I can repair that in short order, and then a skeleton crew can pilot it back to Earth."_

"Gareth should be able to perform that task."

Gareth was a Canadian engineer who was among the first to volunteer and one of the most qualified, having gotten several degrees and served in both the army and in civilianenterprises, both government and commercial. He was a no nonsense all about the job type, which suited him perfectly to the task, though he couldn't seem to contemplate Metis's strange organic nature. He would probably be more comfortable with a supercomputer. As Metis, began testing the key systems. A warning beep resounded as unknown contacts began emerging at the edge of sensor range.

"_Targets identified, one basestar, smaller contacts inbound."_

"Raiders?"

"_Affirmative."_

"Then I better get to a viper."

"_None are in working order."_

"What?"

"_My weapons systems, they are failing to engage."_

"How is that possible?"

"_Uncertain, some unknown force is blocking my command routes. One moment, yes, I can activate the remaining armaments of these two basestars, long enough to provide cover for the engineering teams."_

"Okay…Gareth, Phil, get back to Galactica pronto, we've got hostiles inbound."

"_Affirmative, we're on our way."_

"Metis, have you resolved the issue yet?"

"_No, I cannot access the system. It's as if it isn't there, though I know it physically exists, much like the chamber that preserved Samuel. Raiders within weapons range of the hull…"_

There was a dull rapping as ammo rebounded off the hull. Several passes later and not even a slight shudder registered. Athena asked, "Is that all?"

"_My hull can withstand their ammunition for the time being. My advanced defences also appear inoperable. I have nearly activated the basestars' batteries. Opening fire in three, two, one…"_

A live visual feed appeared on the holoscreen. The raiders were coming in for another pass only to be surprised by the sudden reanimation of the basestars. They were showered by multiple rounds. Three raiders were instantly torn apart whilst three more were disabled. The rest began to scatter in wild evasive manoeuvres. The basestars kept firing, picking them as they could not avoid the streams of ammo. Metis spoke. _"Enemy basestar is manoeuvring into firing range. I am setting the two basestars to automatically lock on to its signature."_

"Two against one, this should be fairly predictable."

"_Perhaps not as much as you think. These basestars have limited ammunition remaining and are damaged. The enemy ship has a full compliment of armaments and crew and is in a healthy state of repair. Also, I have identified numerous upgrades to this basestar compared to the older models."_

"Such as?"

"_Observe…"_

The holoscreen focused on the enemy ship. The two basestars had by now opened fire. The ammo reached the enemy ship but then a reddish blur developed and stayed in place. It appeared strongest where the ammo hit. Athena asked, "What is that?"

"_A mono-directional energy shield, a crude version of the defence I had developed for the Galactica. It can only protect one side of the ship at a time due to the taxing energy demands of the system. I overcame the issue." _

"How?"

"_It's a long story, let's just say it involved antimatter. The basestars are depleting their remaining ammunition."_

"Our teams are safely aboard, though Phil's raptor had a close shave with a raider."

"_Good then we must unfortunately abandon these derelicts. I am beginning a random jump series that hopefully cannot be traced. Another series of derelicts exist in three nearby systems. Maybe we'll have better luck there."_

"Let's hope…"

A massive blast erupted as a nuclear missile ripped through the nearest basestar, sending pieces of it hurtling towards the Galactica.

"_Beginning jump."_

The ship just cleared out before the largest pieces traversed its original location. The haze of the jump cleared and Athena regained her composure for one second before another one began, and another, and another, until they arrived at another red dwarf system, this one with a small planet in orbit. Athena asked, "What's this place?"

"_A bigger challenge for our engineers, the ships here are from a humanoid society that predates the civilisation of Kobol. I believe you are familiar with them."_

"I once lived among them."

"_Indeed, hopefully, our motley crews can come to grips with this."_

"And let's hope Parmita's having more luck than us."


	22. Chapter 21 Mission Interrupted

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE:

Mission interrupted

June 2nd, 2012

Parmita shot first, a bullet hit its mark, but she was not quick enough. Her attacker got off one round before she dropped him.

The wound to her abdomen was severe, and she was losing blood, too much blood. This dingy alley in New Dehli was certainly not going to be where she died, but her options were limited. She'd lost her phone and radio, leaving her with no contact with the rest of her team, if they were still alive, or Metis for that matter. She scanned her surroundings; she was probably in one of the poorest slums of the entire city. There was barely lighting about, let alone any hope of finding a computer or someone with some other device. Even if she did go looking, she couldn't be guaranteed that there were not others in pursuit of her.

She just didn't understand what had gone wrong.

She had decided to try India first because most of Europe and America had retained at least some political and civil stability. Their militaries were still working for their respective governments, and most of their members were too afraid to be discovered contacting Metis, even if they wanted to jump ships. Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia at large were another story. Their governments weren't strong enough to withstand the uproar and unrest and usually their police and militaries led coups to take control. Of course, these weren't smooth processes, and there were always other less savoury types willing to use the opportunity to gain power. More often than not, terrorist groups, criminal gangs, and other extremists would quickly mobilise and take over their local region. With law enforcement and the military so preoccupied, there was really no one to stop them. So, inevitably, the initial anarchy after news of Metis spread had persisted in these countries, and India was no exception.

Metis was attempting to stem this cascade of chaos by directing police and militaries to bring down criminal elements using satellite and ground surveillance and turning off power, water, and communication lines to enemy areas. However, there were dozens of countries to monitor with hundreds of different conflicts each unique in nature. It wasn't anything Metis couldn't process, but there was only so much even it could do to intervene. So far, the Capitol had remained firmly under military control, as had most of north-central and northeast India with more patchy control further south. The big flashpoint was the Kashmir region and the Pakistani border where terrorists were waging all-out war along with rogue elements of the Pakistani military. The Indian forces had been mostly devoted to that front, but Parmita had a few contacts and so did Chakri, her less than moral associate.

She'd hoped to set up a meeting with a senior official to discuss gaining military support from India. Chakri had warned by phone that it would not be easy. Even without the internal strife and lack of political leadership, the military's association with Metis would draw criticism at the very least from the West, who were stoutly against supporting its efforts. Despite Metis offering every support it could in fighting the insurgency in Kashmir, far more than NATO or any western nation could, their opinions still held weight. Parmita had planned to tell them in no uncertain terms that the US, the EU, Russia and China were no longer relevant, that Metis's plan was all that mattered for the entire human race. She wouldn't demand much either in return for the support. Whatever forces they could spare, even reserves, would suffice to help increase security aboard the Galactica and whatever other ships they acquired. A military presence was needed for what was to come.

That had been the plan, but it never got that far.

Not long after Parmita was dropped off outside of the city by a raptor, she tried to make contact with Chakri so he could pass on a rendezvous point. Her calls went unanswered. When she tried to make her way to that dilapidated shithole that he normally occupied, she was intercepted. She didn't catch many details. There were five men, all Caucasian, all American if the accents were anything to go by. They attempted to take her alive.

A critical mistake.

She had been disarmed and bound, but she'd been through worse. She managed to slip out of her bounds before they even left the street. One strike to a groin, the other to a throat and she pelted it down an adjoining alley. She was quickly pursued, and she didn't have a comfortable lead. She rounded a corner and grabbed a wooden plank from the gutters, brought it to bear, and knocked her closest pursuer out cold. Another was close behind. She didn't have time to react in any other way. She stabbed him with its jagged end as he ran into it. He went down quickly, the improvised stake going up under his ribcage into his heart. She took his handgun, checked the ammo, four bullets. Two others were about to reach her. She hid behind a barrel on the opposite side from the two men she'd just taken down. One of them stopped to check their comrades whilst the other kept a watchful eye on their surroundings. Parmita was hidden in shadow, so they could not see her slowly raise the gun to fire. Two headshots, they both dropped quick. The man she struck with the plank was starting to stir. She wondered if she should put him down, too, or should she take him captive for interrogation. No sooner had she revealed her position to approach him when the last of her assailants made a surprise appearance from the opposite direction of the others, having probably gone round to cut her off, expecting her to keep running rather than turn and fight. He saw his fallen comrades first, saw Parmita second, and raised his gun, but Parmita's awareness of him was only a fraction of a second behind, and she let off a shot just in the nick of time. It wasn't her best shooting, the bullet struck him at the base of his throat rather than his forehead as she had intended. Still, the result was the same.

Only when she looked down did she realise that her attacker had worse luck. His shot wasn't instantly fatal.

The bullet had probably damaged her left kidney, maybe an artery, it didn't matter. Without immediate treatment, this wound was mortal and even if she got help, she might not make it. Only Metis could resolve this without too much complications. So, she had two options, either wait to be found by a friendly face while she slowly bled out, or try to find them herself and bleed out faster.

She took the latter option.

Struggling along, she eventually made it back to where the attack took place. She'd balled up her jacket to put pressure on the wound but already the blood was spreading past it, soaking her top. She was feeling weak, shaky, and numb. A coldness was setting in despite the oppressively warm night. She carried on back towards the landing point of the raptor. She knew they weren't still there, but it was her extraction point, and she hoped Metis would be monitoring it. As she turned into open patch of dirt that still bore the marks of the raptor's landing, she waved upward stupidly, her mind addled by the blood loss. It wasn't as if she could draw Metis's attention from orbit.

Then, a familiar click brought everything back into sharp focus. An emotionless voice ordered to drop her weapon, to kick it away and kneel.

She did get rid of her weapon. She was in no position to resist. However, she threw it while standing, knowing as she knelt that she would not move again thereafter. The world started to fall away into blurriness as her knees buckled. The final thing she heard before blackness engulfed her was the ping of a silenced weapon being fired. Thereafter, there was nothing.

Her eyes opened only slowly. The blurriness took even longer to pass before she realised she was in a hospital bed, but not in a place that looked like a public hospital. Beyond the curtains, there was far too much movement, far too much noise. A lot of the chatter sounded military with few medical references. She must have been in some military infirmary, but she had no memory of getting there. She was, in fact, pretty sure that she had been about to die, either by blood loss or her unseen attacker. She had barely a moment more to clear her head when Chakri came through the curtains with an Indian military official. The man was short and could have done with a few runs on a treadmill, but he had a formidable face that seemed perpetually on the precipice of rage. Chakri was the first to speak, "How're you feeling?"

"I've felt a hell of a lot better. What happened?"

"You were intercepted by enemy agents on your way to our rendezvous. You sustained a gunshot wound that grazed your left kidney. You were lucky. We got you in here and stopped the bleeding and gave you a blood infusion. Metis should be able to accelerate the rest of your healing when you get back."

"What happened to you?"

"I was intercepted by Colonel Gupta's men. They told me foreign agents had been identified in New Dehli, trying to track the both of us. We were on our way to get you when we found you at your landing site at gunpoint. Fortunately, your assailant was a bit slow off the mark. He turned on me just in time to take my bullet in the face."

"Who were they?"

"That's what the colonel is here to discuss."

The colonel said, "Ms Nayar, please accept my apologies that we could not come to your aid sooner."

"This isn't my first rodeo, colonel, and I don't expect it to be my last. No apologies are necessary. I would like an explanation, though."

"Of course, as your associate has informed you, the culprits behind your assault were enemy agents in as they are foreigners operating within India with outside support."

"And?"

"And beyond that, we know little. They entered India with fake American passports several days ago. Clearly, they knew you would be arriving here soon after. They weren't hard to track after that. Commercial travel worldwide is at an all-time low, so finding a few Caucasian men among the trickle of tourists wasn't hard. They brought very little with them. Their weapons and equipment were sourced when they arrived. We have no idea who they're working for."

"The A-re perhaps?"

"I thought they were pretty much rendered impotent by now?"

"There may still be active cells despite the crippling of their organisation."

Chakri said, "An individual cell of A-re agents wouldn't have the resources to pull this off abroad of their base location. They'd need to tap into the main A-re HQ for their region for further support. If these men were part of an A-re cell, they've found a new benefactor."

Parmita asked the colonel, "Have you contacted the American embassy?"

"Only to find out if these men were their citizens, so far I've not heard back."

"I think you should make a more high-level request to the American government, let them know we mean business."

"You're suggesting I accuse the US of aiding terrorist elements?"

"I'm saying you should accuse them of sending their agents against another sovereign nation. That should ruffle some feathers. Meanwhile, Metis can issue a few more blatant threats."

"I'm not sure this is wise."

"What can they do?"

"Any threat they issue against you can be swiftly countered by Metis. It's that simple."

Chakri interjected, "There's something else to consider, Parmita. How did the US get this operation passed Metis? It should have seen them decide."

"That I intend to find out."


	23. Chapter 22 Dogfight

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:

DOGFIGHT

June 4TH, 2012

The system's name was Kebh, a single planet orbiting a red dwarf, a place of limited resources due to the low metalicity of the star and the fact that the planet, a sub Earth-sized rock, encompassed the majority of the system's non-stellar mass. It once, however, marked an important point, the verge of one of the greatest interstellar empires the galaxy has ever known. Long before the Colonies, Old Earth, or even Kobol, there were a series of human civilisations who were biologically almost indistinguishable from modern humans. However, go back far enough and the players in God's plan were not as familiar. The Riahl were the last such experiment in biology before humans. They started out as humanoid creatures but with more of an amphibious appearance than humans with thinner translucent skin, dark eyes, hairless with webbed fingers and toes and just slits for ears and nostrils. Over time, they evolved out of their aquatic habitats, establishing a world-spanning civilisation and reaching out to the stars. These people seemed different from other iterations of sentience. They had no interest in creating thinking machines or recreating their form with technology. Their complete lack of such aspirations rendered their progress as a civilisation slow and it was a million years after the advent of basic societies before they left their home system for the nearest stars.

However, the lack of FTL technology meant their colonies in other systems diverged from the home system over time. Despite extending their empire slowly over several million more years to encompass a significant portion of the Milky Way, the race began to diverge and individuals from different worlds became fundamentally different from their ancestors. Some had genetically altered themselves to suit their home planets' environments and still others had broken that old taboo and become entwined with technology. The Homeworlders disapproved and tried to intervene but the colonies resisted. In the end, they decided to fight fire with fire. They knew a war would be impossibly drawn out at sublight speeds, especially when the empire stretched across a quarter of the galaxy, so they built immortal soldiers, robotic warriors who would move in and subdue the dissenters. So they sat pretty and waited for their machines to spread through the empire and take control.

The Colonists, however, were smarter than the Homeworlders gave them credit for. They knew the machines were coming and sent their own machines to intercept them. Having developed nanotech, they sent swarms of nanobots to intercept the approaching hordes and rewrite their programming. They army reversed course back upon the homeworld, but the machines had detected something before the nanotech took control, an abandoned ship not belonging to the Riahl. It was a derelict of a bygone race, one who possessed FTL technology. The machines were designed to adapt readily and learn, so they quickly repaired and reactivated the vessel, returning it to their masters who learned enough before the hijacked machines returned to build their own FTL-capable warships. However, no battle ensued. The non-hijacked machines who had recovered the FTL ship refused to fight their nanotech-controlled counterparts and so, they, too, were hijacked, and the Homeworld fell. However, the machines ability to learn and adapt augmented by the nanotech soon led them to make huge strides on their own, including overriding the Colonists' control of them. They began to multiply and spread, taking on new forms, including those of their former masters.

And the rest has happened before and has happened again. The machines moved to eliminate their creators, and the whole Riahl Empire crumbled. They subsequently self-annihilated as a deeply hidden protocol written into their programming commanded them to do after a given time period. The Colonists had not figured on their creations becoming FTL-capable and so, their protocol did not activate until every last one of them had been wiped out by the machines.

"And that is their story." Athena said.

Gregory replied, "Kind of drab."

"I already explained the history of the entire universe, Gregory. Did you really expect the story of the Riahl to be any different?"

"No, I guess not…and you lived among them?"

"For a time, yes, I did. It was during their final conflict. I tried to steer both sides away from war, but my efforts were in vain. The sentient machines that emerged from the conflict were particularly vicious, and I doubted they would respect organic life if they discovered it anywhere else, so, just in case they got of control, I personally programmed them with a kill-switch."

"Nice foresight.'

"It helps to have God on your side."

"Yeah, sure, so why will these ships be harder for our engineers to handle."

"The Riahl were humanoid, yes, but they were semi-aquatic. Their life-support systems are configured to produce humid, wet conditions throughout their ships. Whole sections are dedicated artificial ponds or swamps even so individuals can rehydrate. Not a comfortable environment for a human."

"Can't Metis sort that out?"

"She can manipulate the system to do whatever it can do within its design parameters. Producing an environment suitable for us is not something it can do. No, all the ships will have to be retrofitted, a slow process and after the incident with the basestars, I'm not keen on just sitting here."

"It's been three days. Surely if they were going to find us, they would have done so by now."

"Not necessarily, we performed a high number of random jumps. They would have to search every system in the local vicinity. That could take them a week. We should be done by tomorrow or the day after. Hopefully, they don't strike it lucky before then."

Metis's voiced filled CIC, "_Athena, I thought you'd like to know I've gained access to ships thanks to the crews. I can reactivate and control them now. My repair bots should be able to work effectively in the internal environment to strip out and replace the life-support systems. These are war-era ships, so installing an FTL drive will not be necessary. However, there is the matter of the bodies_."

"Bodies?" Gregory exclaimed.

"In a vacuum, there would be nothing to cause them to decay. Have your bots gather them together and jettison them into the atmosphere of the planet. That is the Riahl tradition for sending off those who die in space."

"Wait, why are there bodies? I thought the machines controlled the FTL fleet."

"Most of it, yes, but evac ships were prepped in case the war was lost. When the machines betrayed them and refused to fight their nanotech-controlled counterparts, the ships departed for the edge of the empire, hoping to disappear into uncharted space. They ships had already been infiltrated by nanotech, however, so it switched off the life-support, killing the evacuees."

"Harsh."

"Quite."

"_Alert, contacts inbound_."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"_Unfortunately not, Athena_."

"How many?"

"…_Oh my_…"

"What?"

"_A dozen basestars and their support craft. Several hundred smaller contacts have disembarked_."

"God damn it. Get the crews back here."

"_There is insufficient time_."

"Well, we can't just abandon them."

"_Agreed, I am opening the Riahl ships' docking bays, instructing them to berth. Rebooting defence and offensive systems on all ships_."

Gregory said, "Metis, we have five ships against twelve, and this one can't even fire,. We're toast if we stay. Can't you engage all the ships' FTLs and get us out of here?"

"_Exactly what I intend to do, Mr, Barnes, but interfacing and engaging such complex systems will take time, and we need to buy some. I am holding the ship with our crews back. Sending the other three to engage_."

A holo-image appeared showing the three ships moving into midst of the enemy fleet. The ships had strange smooth forms without any right angles or corners. Everything fit seamlessly into the shape. Gregory said, "Surely they won't last long."

"Don't underestimate a Riahl warship. If there was one thing they were good at, it was building sturdy, well-armoured ships. They should last as long as we need."

The three ships were immediately set upon by the raiders, peppering their hulls with ammunition. Athena was right. It had nearly no effect. The first few basestars came into range. Their batteries were stronger, but the Riahl ships were holding their own even against superior numbers. Metis stated, "_Activating offensive systems_."

Despite the genius of Riashl armour, their weapons technology lagged behind somewhat, consisting of basic chemical missiles and railguns. They opened fire, clearing out the nearby raiders and keeping the basetars' nukes at bay, but the tide was never going to turn. The left flanking warship finally let in a fatal blow, a nuke slammed into its hull near the engines, creating a chain reaction. The explosion ripped through the ships' infrastructure and damaged its neighbouring warship and a nearby basestar. Metis said, "The damaged Riahl ship has lost FTL capability. It will take too long to re-engage. I am setting it on a collision course with the nearest basestar. The other ship I have ordered into a nosedive away from the enemy fleet. We will be jump-ready in fifteen seconds. The damaged ship lurched forward. Its intended target attempted to veer out of the way but was too slow. The warship cut the basestars upper sections before ploughing right through the midsection of another basestar, exploding violently and damaging the closely-knit formation of basestars. The last one dived away out of range of their weapons. Metis said, "_Two basestars destroyed, six disabled, the rest are attempting to regroup_."

Gregory replied, "Well played, Metis."

"_Thank you, Mr. Barnes. However, we must move on. The two ships we have recovered will not be enough to fend off an incursion much larger than this, even if we send those ships on kamikaze missions_."

Athena replied, "Metis, you know we have little time remaining. Cavil will reach Earth on a timeframe of months to weeks. Can we really face him with a smattering of mismatched ships?"

"_We have no other choice. Unless we can find the problem with my own systems, it's all we have. There is evidence of several more Riahl warships in the next system over. They will be our next port of call. I am taking us out now before those last four basestars get organised. Commencing jump_."

The Galactica and beginnings of her fleet zoomed away as the enemy limped after them in vain. Cavil raged.


End file.
